


Knock, and It Shall Be Opened Unto You

by anax imperator (anax)



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-02-07 18:27:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 84,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12846963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anax/pseuds/anax%20imperator
Summary: A direct sequel to Cursed in the Name of the Lord.  On the run from the Holy Beasts, Daisuke learns what it means to survive at any cost.





	1. Chapter 1

Nighttime in the digital world. Most Digimon slept at night and were active during the day, with only a few (mostly Viruses) at home in the darkness. It was also true that the digital world was sparsely populated ... aside from the cities, the average density of Digimon per square kilometer was perhaps one, and in some places zero.

Across an empty plain a Digimon raced, almost flying, his clawed feet only fleetingly in contact with the ground. He was a dragon-type, a 'dramon, fierce and strong and nigh-invincible against others within his own evolution level ... unless of course, those others were armed with 'dramon-killers. His blue hide was all but invisible beneath the black armor that wrapped him - the Digimental of Friendship.

Upon his back were two riders, not Digimon themselves, strangers to this world.

The one in front gripped the base of the spikes that rose from the running Digimon's shoulders. He moved stiffly with each of the Digimon's strides, for they had been travelling a long time and he was bone-weary.

The one behind leaned against the other rider's back, his arms around the other boy's waist for support. Were it not for the grip he thereby maintained, he likely would have fallen and dashed his brains out against the swiftly-passing ground. Behind him, the wind of their flight teased out the tattered spikes of his blue-black hair, and he was also bleeding from the shoulder.

Swift as approaching death, the Digimon ran through the milky light of the digital moon, making for the distant forest that clothed the foothills of the mountains. It was imperative that they make the cover of the trees before dawn, for the dawn would doubtless bring pursuit.

And pursuit would doubtless come in the form of the other Chosen Children, riding their own fierce and strong partner Digimon, as well as the countless non-human servants of the Holy Beasts.

Motomiya Daisuke did not want to have to fight his friends. If it came down to that, he knew he would have to kill them if he could in order to protect Ichijouji, and if that proved impossible he would have to make them kill him. Neither of those options looked too good to him, and he wasn't sure he could muster the resolve to choose. He definitely didn't want to die, and he didn't want Ichijouji to die ... but could he _kill_ Hikari?

So they ran.

* * *

"Do you smell anything, buddy?" asked Daisuke. He hoped the answer was no, because he could feel Raidramon's weariness through his legs, and knew that his Digimon was holding onto his Armor evolution through sheer willpower alone. Raidramon was going to be the only thing between the boys and the vengeance of the Holy Beasts, at least until they attained the dubious safety of Ichijouji's broken empire. While Daisuke could love him for his tenacity, he also wanted to make sure his partner didn't damage himself with the effort.

After a couple of deep whuffs of air, Raidramon said, "Only green and water. The water isn't that far away, should I head toward it?"

Daisuke was about to say no in spite of his thirst, to spare Raidramon the walk, but was interrupted. "Yes," said Ichijouji roughly. "Go into the water and walk along it for at least one kilometer."

"Hey, I don't think he can make it another kilometer," said Daisuke.

"I can make it," said Raidramon, although the steps he began to take toward the stream were shaky with weariness.

"If he can't, we're screwed," said Ichijouji, although from the sleepy tone of his voice he didn't sound like he much cared one way or the other. "I don't think I can walk, and you have to remember that other Digimon will be able to pick up our scent just as well as he can pick up theirs, unless we wash it away."

Daisuke hadn't thought of that, but conceded the point. "If I have to, I'll carry you both."

"I said I can make it, now shut up," said Raidramon. Daisuke, who hadn't seen his Digimon in quite this mood before, obeyed and fell silent.

This forest was mostly unpopulated, ever since Daisuke and his team had cleared the Bakemon out of it three months earlier. He suspected there to be more hostile Digimon living somewhere in the forest, but capturing the increasingly dangerous Digimon Kaizer had become a priority to the Holy Beasts, and so Daisuke had never combed all the way through it. The chances of encountering someone seemed fairly low, though, and so he felt reasonably safe resting here for a short time.

Soon Daisuke could hear the stream himself, and once they came upon it Raidramon waded into it without hesitation. The water flowed quickly, and came up to brush the Digimon's belly and splash the boys' feet, which made Daisuke worry about being swept away; Ichijouji would surely drown if knocked into the water. Raidramon was heedless of that danger, though, and he proceeded confidently downstream. After two gentle curves of the stream had been passed, he moved toward the opposite shore and safely back onto dry land, to Daisuke's relief.

Disengaging Ichijouji's grip on him and jumping to the ground, Daisuke winced and grunted a bit as his stiff joints and muscles sent shocks of pain through him. "All right, we'll stop here for awhile," he said. Then he eyed Ichijouji, who hadn't moved other than to lean forward a little. "Need help getting down?"

There was grudging silence for a moment, but then Ichijouji said, "Yes."

Daisuke got Raidramon to crouch a little, and pulled the other boy down. The instant Ichijouji's feet hit the ground, Raidramon flashed and devolved to Veemon and collapsed; Ichijouji groaned in pain and went down on his knees in spite of Daisuke's efforts to hold him up.

Having never been responsible for someone so weak, Daisuke was unsure how to proceed, but he figured he couldn't go far wrong with giving Ichijouji some water. Food would also be in order, particularly for Veemon, if he could find it. "Hey," he said, intending to rouse Ichijouji to take him down to the stream to drink, but he was startled before he got any farther than that.

There was sticky blood covering the palm of his glove.

"What the ...!" he exclaimed. "You're bleeding!"

"I know that," said Ichijouji. Daisuke could see the dark stain across the blue fabric over his right shoulder blade now, dried rusty along the edges but still damp and red-black in the center.

"Why didn't you say something?"

"What could you have done? You were right, we had to keep moving. It just would have made you fuss."

Frowning, Daisuke stood up and glared at the boy he'd saved. "Okay, we need to work on our communication skills here. You need to start _telling me_ when you're thirsty or hungry or bleeding to death, okay?"

"I'm not bleeding to death," said Ichijouji crossly. "Help me get to the creek."

"I'm just trying to help," muttered Daisuke. "I can't if I don't know what's going on." He knelt down and gave Ichijouji the support of his arm. The slender boy never got completely upright, but managed to half-stagger, half-crawl down to the water.

"I know," said Ichijouji softly, and the annoyance was gone. "I'm so tired." He lay on his belly on the lip of the mossy bank and scooped water up to his mouth.

"Yeah, me too. Want to do something about your shoulder? What'd they do to you anyway?"

"I don't want to talk about it. And yes, it hurts like a bitch and I'd dearly love to get it cooled off, but I'd rather not drown trying."

"I'll help you," said Daisuke brightly. "Then after you're all cleaned up you can sleep with Veemon while I go look for something to eat."

Ichijouji paused a little, and then nodded minimally. "Promise me something first."

"What?"

Dark eyes slid over to meet Daisuke's gaze. "I don't want your pity."

Confused, Daisuke said, "Okay. No problem." He slowly stood up, stretched his weary limbs and then helped Ichijouji sit upright. "Let's just get this off you."

The Kaizer nodded and fumbled with the fastenings of his shirt. Once he had it open, Daisuke gingerly peeled the wet fabric away.

It wasn't just Ichijouji's shoulder, although that was the only part bleeding freely. His entire back was slashed and bloody, and Daisuke winced a little as he pulled the shirt free. "Damn," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Shrugging a little, Ichijouji said dismissively, "You didn't do it."

"It's my fault though."

"You didn't know. Now stop already, I told you I didn't want your pity."

Daisuke stood and took off his own jacket and shirt. "I can't help it. This _is_ my fault, I'm the one who caught you and brought you to Skip Phase. I could have let you go whenever. But I didn't."

"I didn't know you were the only one there," said Ichijouji acidly. "I was under the impression there were five of you. And really, I'm not up to dealing with your guilt right now, so would you knock it off?"

Kicking away his shoes and pants, Daisuke said, "I feel terrible, though."

"I sort of feel like shit myself."

Once Ichijouji had been stripped as well, Daisuke helped him into the cool water, and sat down on the smooth pebbles in the shallows to be leaned against. He was uneasy with this, because he could see how many bruises marked the other boy's pale skin, and he didn't know how many of those had come from Skip Phase and how many had been inflicted by himself and his team. In addition to these and the raw gashes on his back, the Kaizer also sported numerous tiny rips on his thighs, hips, chest, and all over his fingertips and under his fingernails. It was as if something very tiny had taken a hundred bites of him.

Feeling somewhat nauseated, Daisuke started to say, "What ..." but was swiftly interrupted.

"Don't ask," said Ichijouji sleepily. "I said I didn't want to talk about it." He lay on his belly with his arms and chest over Daisuke's left leg, and rested his hands against the streambed. The water flowed over his rump and the small of his back this way, but no higher, and so Daisuke began to splash it up across his shoulders. "Mmmm," sighed the Kaizer, closing his eyes.

As some of the dried blood sluiced away, Daisuke's nausea suddenly peaked. The slashes in Ichijouji's back were not random - they were words. Four columns of elegant kanji and kana, carved into Ichijouji's flesh, read, "Obedience is joy. The Holy Beasts may freely use me as they will. I will comply."

The intricate "obedience" kanji on his right shoulderblade constituted a dense, raw wound, while the symbols for "use freely" formed another one just above his left buttock beside the base of his spine.

There really was nothing to say about that. Daisuke was glad he hadn't eaten anything yet, because he was sure it would have come up if he had.

Ichijouji had said didn't want to talk about it. If he preferred to pretend that this had never happened, Daisuke would respect his wishes, no matter how difficult that was. The warmth of the tortured boy's body was like sunlight on Daisuke's leg, and when a drowsy sound of complaint was voiced, he resumed splashing cool water across the angry red marks.

"So, um ..." he said after an awkward silence. "What do you want to do? I have a vague idea about where we're going, but we always used the shortcut through the Gates. I never went anywhere the long way before."

"It's north of Skip Phase," said Ichijouji softly. "And a lot east. We should follow the mountains for awhile and then go through them. The area is huge, and it's all forest until we're on the other side."

"What are we going to do once we get there? I mean ..." Daisuke paused a little and ran more water over Ichijouji's shoulders. "Do you really think you can get the Gates open?"

"I think I was getting close when you all disturbed me."

The notion that they could get back to the real world cheered Daisuke considerably. Then something bellowed from the sky, and he looked guiltily upward.

"That's an Airdramon," said Ichijouji. "We should be okay here, it won't be able to see us unless it comes right down to the water."

"You don't think it will?"

The dark head shook lazily. "They already have a really large area to search. You were a Chosen Child for the Holy Beasts, you should know how this works. They'll send in some Digimon to look on the ground level, but a flying Digimon can cover a lot more territory, and they have a lot of territory to cover." He spoke quietly, absently.

"I guess you're right," said Daisuke, but he couldn't help flinching a little when the Airdramon trumpeted again, from farther away. "Sorry, I did know that. I'm just a little jumpy."

"You're not used to being the prey," said Ichijouji, with a smile in his voice. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it. I want to get out of here before I get used to it." Daisuke jiggled his knee a little, because Ichijouji had relaxed completely against him. "Hey, don't go to sleep on me. Let's get you out of the water first."

"... Okay."

Ichijouji's pants, while not exactly clean, were at least not bloodstained, so Daisuke put those back on him. Then he took off his painted jacket and put that around the thin shoulders. Ichijouji curled up on his side on the leaves, and Daisuke moved the sleeping Veemon next to him, on the theory that its always better to feel the presence of a known other when trying to sleep in a strange place. Veemon might not be very happy when he woke up next to the Digimon Kaizer, but Daisuke trusted him not to do anything rash until he got a chance to explain what had happened in Skip Phase.

He went back to the stream then to drink some water, and scrub as much of the blood out of Ichijouji's shirt as possible. If nothing else, he mused, the marks on Ichijouji's back would probably sicken Veemon as much as they did him.

* * *

For whatever reason, the digital forests were almost always fruitful for those who made a concerted effort to locate food within them. Daisuke was beyond exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep next to Veemon and Ichijouji, but what would they eat if he did that? And who would keep watch for trouble? Veemon had been running as Raidramon for almost twenty-four hours straight, and deserved his rest and a good breakfast when he woke up. And Ichijouji ...

So Daisuke searched, but did not dare stray far into the forest, and he kept an ear open as well as he could for anything out of the ordinary. He was so tired though, and it was becoming downright painful to keep himself awake ... the concentration required to both look for something edible and also stay alert for trouble was virtually beyond him.

In the end, he found some half-ripened berries, and hoped they weren't poisonous. Veemon should be able to tell once he woke up. He picked a few, with the intention of coming back for more if Veemon vetted them, and returned to the stream where his partner and the boy who had been his prisoner two days ago slept.

The ground felt soft and welcoming when he plunked down, and the rustle of the wind through the upper branches of the trees was soothing. It was so tempting to lay down and close his eyes and rest ... it would just be for a few minutes! He'd accidentally crushed one of the berries, and the earthy scent of the juice was another gentle sensation urging him to succumb to his drowsiness.

Instead, he folded his legs and sat up, releasing the picked berries in a pile beside him lest he crush more. He had no idea how long he'd been looking, and thereby how long his companions had been sleeping, but it didn't feel like nearly long enough yet. Checking the time on his Digivice told him nothing, as he didn't know when he'd begun.

Then, thoughtfully, he deactivated the device, so that he could not be tracked by it.

He wondered what his parents were thinking. Excuses had doubtless been made for his absence ... probably not very good ones, certainly not good enough to keep him out of trouble for being gone so long without calling them, but some sort of rationale was better than none. That had been when he was One Of The Team, though, and he wondered if any of the other Chosen had bothered to contact his parents since he'd fled Skip Phase with the Digimon Kaizer. It was hard to believe that a scant week earlier he had been completely free of doubts, completely trusting in the Holy Beasts and their wisdom. They had seemed so gracious, so _benevolent._

It was hard to believe that they had slashed the message they wished to imprint in Ichijouji's mind into his flesh. He had no idea what else they might have done to the dark-haired boy; the heavens knew that Daisuke himself had been relentlessly cruel to him on the progress to Skip Phase, in ways that had left no marks. Ichijouji's current poor condition probably had more to do with what Daisuke had done than the Holy Beasts.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and reached out with one hand to brush a spike of hair away from Ichijouji's forehead. The other boy sighed in his sleep, one hand curling around the edge of Daisuke's jacket to hold it close.

This Digimon Kaizer, who had done many things that Daisuke had counted as immensely heartless and cold-blooded before he knew what the Kaizer's opposition was also capable of doing ... this Ichijouji Ken, who in sleep lapsed back into the half grown man-child that any boy their age should by rights be ... who was he, really? Daisuke had only the vaguest impression of Ichijouji from the real world, gleaned from what he'd seen and heard in passing of the famous young genius. Most of what he thought he knew had been concluded from the things the Kaizer had done, things that he now understood had been necessitated by the monstrous circumstances in which the boy found himself, and which did not necessarily reflect Ichijouji's true personality.

Despite the late-night conversations of the past few days, Daisuke realized that he didn't have a very good idea of what kind of person Ichijouji really was. Those conversations had been a sort of ploy, he understood that now. A desperate gambit by a desperate boy to gain the sympathy of one of his captors, someone who had the power to release him from the threat of impending torture. There had been truth in the Kaizer's words, but Daisuke was not convinced that Ichijouji had told him no lies mixed in with that truth.

Ichijouji twitched suddenly, although he did not wake, and made a soft sound of distress. Daisuke stroked his fingers through the boy's fine, dark hair, and murmured, "It's okay. I'm here." Ichijouji did not stop twitching, and was probably insensible to Daisuke's attempt at comfort, but it made Daisuke feel better to try. So he continued to comb his fingers gently through Ichijouji's hair, sliding his gaze down the lines of the sleeping boy's face - the aristocratic cheekbones, the narrow, pointed chin, the curve of baby fat that still rounded and distorted his features.

_You keep looking at me. I felt you watching me for hours while we were walking, and now you're staring. What is it? Do you want to make sure I'm real? Or do you just think I'm pretty?_

Daisuke hadn't given much thought to the Kaizer's words at the time, words that had invited him to touch the other boy in something other than hatred or anger. He'd been confused and off-balance, and not thinking clearly. As he played gently with Ichijouji's hair, though, the words came back to him and he wondered.

"You _are_ pretty," he murmured quietly. "Prettier than Hikari ..."

Ichijouji's hand jerked. His eyes flew open and he gave a strangled little cry, glancing wildly around for a moment before he seemed to realize where he was. Daisuke smiled at him and smoothed a hand across his cheek.

"It's okay," he said again, in a low tone because Veemon was still asleep.

The wildness faded, and Ichijouji moved to wipe his eye. "Yeah," he whispered. "What time is it?"

"Um ..." Daisuke pulled out his Digivice and flipped it on for a moment, and said, "Not quite five."

"Oh." Ichijouji laid his head down again and closed his eyes. "Lots of time yet."

"Until what?" Daisuke continued to lightly pet Ichijouji's face, and there was no objection forthcoming.

"Dark," murmured Ichijouji, sounding sleepy again. "Better to move at night."

"Not much night in the summer."

"Can't be helped. Airdramon and Snimon are less likely to spot us that way."

"Don't worry about Snimon," said Daisuke. "They lie a lot, so if one sees us and reports it, they'll send an Airdramon to corroborate before taking the report seriously."

"Oh yeah?" Ichijouji sounded very disinterested, but Daisuke put it down to weariness.

"Yeah. And that's _if_ the Snimon reports it in the first place, which they often don't."

"That's good." Ichijouji went quiet again, and Daisuke assumed that he had fallen back asleep. Daisuke wanted to sleep too ... his entire body ached and cried for it. He imagined himself laying down next to Ichijouji, close enough to smell the sweat on him, and closing his eyes to rest.

He couldn't, though. If there was one mistake that Daisuke had sworn he would never make, it was allowing every single person in his group to sleep at the same time when in potentially dangerous territory. Although he would have considered this forest to be quite safe not long ago, that assumption could no longer be made. Any Digimon should be deemed hostile now, not just short-tempered Viruses.

Daisuke could have wept with his desire for sleep ... except that he was determined not be that weak. He would do what needed to be done, even if it felt like it would kill him.

He wondered briefly how Ichijouji had done it as long as he had. No self-control had been required on his part - Daisuke had more or less forced him to stay awake - and perhaps that was the deciding factor. Still, his admiration for the boy mounted for having maintained such presence of mind for so long under the circumstances. He was not at all sure that he would have been able to convince the Kaizer of his sincerity had the situation been reversed.

Heaven was the ability to rest. Hell was having to keep going even when exhausted.

Daisuke wondered if he would ever be able to make it up to Ichijouji, for what he'd done.

For now, though, all he could do was sit and keep watch with as much attention as he could muster through his fatigue, and offer the other boy as much solace as he could.

* * *

"Hey," said Ichijouji softly. The word and the gentle nudge against Daisuke's ribs roused him out of the half-doze he'd fallen into while Raidramon walked.

It was night again, and through the sharp-edged darkness the three of them traveled. Raidramon chose his way with occasional direction from Ichijouji, and because Daisuke was beyond exhausted and mostly extraneous once Veemon had been evolved, he was napping uncomfortably with his shoulder against the flat part of Raidramon's middle spike. The nudging brought him to something near full wakefulness again almost instantly.

"What?" he said, somewhat too loudly. Ichijouji shushed him.

"Be quiet and listen."

Daisuke suddenly realized that they were stopped, and Raidramon's head was raised and his ears lifted toward some point out in the dark forest. Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Daisuke listened as instructed, and then frowned.

"Digimon," he breathed. He could hear them now, moving around the forest.

"Too many to be strays," murmured Ichijouji.

Daisuke leaned down to tap Raidramon on the neck, and once he had the dragon's attention he gestured a question. Raidramon shook his head and flicked his ear nervously, not speaking lest his deep voice carry.

"Raidramon doesn't smell them," whispered Daisuke. Ichijouji stiffened against his back, understanding immediately.

"I don't feel any wind," whispered Ichijouji uncertainly.

Daisuke shook his head, as that was meaningless. The air was always moving somewhat, whether one felt it or not. He was completely awake now, attuned to the danger they were in, and he wished now that he'd stayed awake. He had no idea where the river was, or what direction they'd been traveling.

"I wish Raidramon could fly," he said, unfair in his frustration. "Where's the river?"

"Back that way," said Ichijouji, pointing out laterally to the way Raidramon was facing. "A long way. We'd never make it."

Daisuke nodded. If they went slowly enough to go unheard, they would probably be discovered just by chance. If they rushed ... "Damn," he whispered to himself. "Here." Twisting around, he started to unfasten Ichijouji's shirt.

"What are you doing?" asked Ichijouji, although he made no motion to stop Daisuke.

"The less we make you look like you the better. They'll probably aim for you first. Take my jacket." Daisuke tied the sleeves of the Kaizer's shirt together and draped it from one of Raidramon's spikes while Ichijouji donned his fur-collared jacket.

"I doubt that's going to fool anyone."

"Shhhh." Daisuke tapped Raidramon again, and directed him toward the river. "And do something about your hair."

Raidramon's vast feet were heavy in the twigs and leaves of the forest floor. Daisuke could tell that his partner was moving as carefully as he could, setting his claws down as softly as possible, but there simply _was_ no way for such a large creature to step quietly without creeping. Every rustle and broken twig sounded like a gunshot to Daisuke; his nerves sang, shrieking _runrunrunrun_ and he knew that Raidramon could feel his impatience to escape the distant sounds of Digimon. Behind him, Ichijouji trembled as well, and Daisuke feared for a moment that Raidramon would suddenly break into a gallop as the tension snapped.

Then he and Raidramon recognized at virtually the same moment the mistake they'd made. Raidramon halted.

Ahead of them and off to their right, through the trees, Daisuke could see a clearing. Many low, broad, rounded shelters had been constructed there, glowing pale under the moonlight.

Daisuke felt Ichijouji's weight shift as the other boy looked around his shoulder. "Damn," was all he said, so quietly Daisuke could barely hear it, and Daisuke wondered briefly why he bothered. Raidramon's footsteps had been louder.

The sounds of Digimon moving and speaking softly to each other crescendoed abruptly, and Raidramon stiffened, bracing himself. Daisuke backed off a little, planting his hands on Raidramon's armor and releasing the spikes. Normally he would scoot well back toward his Digimon's hindquarters, but with Ichijouji riding behind him there was only just so far he could go. He hoped he didn't get electrocuted on accident.

"The smell's stronger here," said one Digimon as it approached. "They can't be far."

"Why don't they come out? Hey, didn't we come this way before?"

"No, stupid. But we did come in a big circle, we're almost back at the village now. You don't suppose they're heading that way, do you?"

"If they're sneaking toward the village, it must be an attack!"

"I'm telling you, I only smell _one_ Digimon."

"... I smell more than one."

"I smell more than one too, but only one _Digimon."_

"Don't be stupid, what else could they be? There's no reason for Chosen Children to be sneaking around in the woods. They've got to be Digimon."

Daisuke leaned down low against Raidramon's back. Only a matter of time now. Ichijouji's hands slid down Daisuke's hips and twisted firmly in the fabric of his shorts.

So intent was he on the sounds of the Digimon conversing to their left, Daisuke didn't even notice it when the first Digimon bounced into sight, coming from the direction of the village. Raidramon did, and snorted menacingly at it.

The little Digimon, no bigger than a Koromon although it was clearly some other type, squealed loudly. "Here they are!" it cried excitedly, bouncing back toward the village. "It's Chosen Children! It's Chosen Children!"

Daisuke frowned and leaned forward to lay a restraining hand on Raidramon's neck. If they were all babies, then surely they could threaten their way through with no problem. Baby Digimon couldn't possibly stop them, or slow them down, or follow them any great distance. Perhaps the danger was not as immediate as he'd thought.

The Digimon from whom they'd been fleeing chose that moment to bound into sight through the darkness beneath the trees. "Chosen Children!" they cried, over and over, and there was nothing but delight in the words. They bounced around Raidramon's feet, causing the dragon to lift his head to avoid being nailed in the chin.

They _were_ all baby Digimon. And they were pleased. None of them seemed at all alarmed or suspicious, not even at the sight of Ichijouji.

"I don't understand," murmured Daisuke.

"I don't either," murmured Ichijouji back.

"Come to the village!" they called. "Chosen Children! Chosen Children!"

"Quiet down!" said a new voice, much deeper than the babies'. The tiny Digimon ceased immediately, settling to the ground like sprayed insects. "You'll have to forgive them. We've never had Chosen Children visit before."

The newcomer came into view, and Daisuke was not at all surprised to see that an Elecmon was caring for the babies. It peered up at them, squinting to see them in the dimness in much the same way they were squinting down at it. Daisuke eyed the little Digimon, but the Elecmon's tail feathers were not raised; it was impossible to make out its expression in the darkness.

"I'm Elecmon," said the Elecmon unnecessarily. "You all must be tired. It's so late."

"Not really," said Daisuke, somewhat suspicious and unwilling to admit any weakness to a potential enemy.

"Yes," said Ichijouji. "We've been traveling all day and all night. Could we stop here for a little while?"

Daisuke resisted the urge to turn around and demand to know what Ichijouji thought he was doing. The baby Digimon bounced around, ecstatic. Elecmon's ears straightened up, and it said, "Absolutely! Follow me! Babies, go decide whose hut the Chosen Children will sleep in!"

All of the baby Digimon bounded toward the village like a plague of locusts, each and every one of them volunteering its own home and objecting when the others all did likewise. Elecmon called after them, "If you can't decide, I will decide for you! I'm sorry," it said in a lower tone as it started toward the village at a more sedate pace. After a moment, Raidramon sort of shrugged a little and followed. "They're really just very excited. They've never seen Chosen Children before, and we've never had any come to visit our little village since long before any of them hatched. Where's your other Digimon by the way? Can we expect him later?"

"Other Digimon?" said Daisuke blankly. A hand lightly touched his arm.

"He was stolen from me by a group of Devidramon," said Ichijouji. "We're on our way to rescue him."

"Oh, that must be terrible for you!" said Elecmon.

"It's my dishonor that I let it happen," said Ichijouji.

"No! It's your Digimon's responsibility to protect you! You shouldn't be obligated to protect him!"

"I'm the one who thought we could take on whatever was in that valley by ourselves. It's my fault. We'll get him back, though."

"Of course you will, of course you will. What are your names?"

"I'm Yamamoto Osamu," lied Ichijouji smoothly. "And this is Akiyama Ryou and Raidramon."

Caught off-guard, Daisuke coughed. The Elecmon seemed to find nothing amiss, and said "We are greatly honored to have you with us, Chosen Children. I hope our humble attempts at hospitality are adequate."

"I'm sure everything will be fine," said Daisuke hesitantly.

"Please forgive the babies their silliness at times. They are still very young, they always leave me as soon as they grow up a little. What did you all decide?" Elecmon walked out into the village clearing, the moonlight hoary on its fur and feathers, and looked sternly around at the baby Digimon who gathered around it. "Whose hut shall we give them?"

Immediately, all the baby Digimon clamored together, again volunteering every hut in the village. Elecmon bristled then, and began to lecture the babies about compromise and judgement.

From his high perch on Raidramon's back, Daisuke looked doubtfully at the village. The huts all seemed to be made of wood and thatch, as round as mushrooms and tallest in the centers, and none of them stood higher than Raidramon's chest. Plenty of room for Elecmon and the babies, but Daisuke and Ichijouji would have to get down on their knees to get in and would not be able to stand upright once inside. It seemed almost cozy, like a fort built of couch pillows, but Daisuke knew the sense of security that would come from that would be illusory.

"Now, because these are our honored guests, we should give them the best hut in the village," said Elecmon. "Anything else would insult them, even if you are all being very generous in wanting to give them your own. So which hut is the best?"

The baby Digimon milled about, murmuring with each other. One of them tentatively said, "Yours?"

"Correct!" said Elecmon proudly. "You are completely correct. You three, go clear our my hut, and you six go get the best clean mats and blankets out of the storage. Go on now, shoo!"

The Digimon thus assigned bounced away in different directions, while the rest clustered around Elecmon, asking for things to do for the Chosen Children. Elecmon sent them to their beds with an authoritarian command, adding, "You will all be out finding food for them tomorrow, so you'll need your sleep!"

When the last baby was out of sight, and the village was relatively quiet (Daisuke could still hear them whispering to each other within their huts), Ichijouji said, "No one ever visits you?"

"Never," said Elecmon sadly. "The Holy Beasts seem to have forgotten that this village is here at all, and it has been many, many years since the last time Chosen Children came. It was during the Great Server War, in fact. The Holy Beasts sent two Chosen Children here to guard the village from attack. They were such nice children, too. They promised they would come back and visit us, but they never did." Sighing, Elecmon said, "I suppose they had good reasons."

"Probably," said Ichijouji. "And you've had no visitors since? No news at all?"

"None. We never know what's going on in the world." The Elecmon looked up at them hopefully, its huge eyes like gemstones in the moonlight. Daisuke knew that it wanted them to volunteer to bring it up to date on everything, but he was certain he didn't want to do that himself, so he said nothing.

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Ichijouji. "There really isn't much news these days, though."

"Oh." Elecmon's ears drooped at this oblique refusal. "I hope you can stay long enough after dinner tomorrow to talk a little. I know you're in a hurry to recover your Digimon, but the babies will want to show off what they've learned about polite conversation."

"I'm sure we can stay a little while," said Ichijouji. "Raidramon is very tired and needs rest."

Elecmon beamed, but before it could say anything about that the contingent of baby Digimon returned, hopping through the maze of simple huts. Whatever opinion Elecmon had been about to voice was lost in their hyperactive report that everything was ready. Smiling kindly at the babies, Elecmon praised them for their diligence and then sent them off to bed with their fellows.

Daisuke couldn't help the little grin that came to him. Surely not all Digimon were like the Holy Beasts, cruel and selfish. Elecmon was so patient with the babies, and seemed to love them so much. Its duty here was clearly no burden for it, and no matter how much it might desire news of the rest of the digital world, it seemed quite happy here. They all seemed happy. Perhaps all that was required was a simple change in government. It would be really cool to go back to being a Chosen again, as long as he wasn't supporting the Holy Beasts.

Elecmon showed them to its hut, which to Daisuke's eye seemed no different from any of the rest. It was neither bigger nor apparently better built, but he thanked Elecmon anyway as if he'd been offered a palace. He felt a lot better about accepting their hospitality, now that he knew they had no clue what was going on with himself and Ichijouji. It seemed a little deceptive, but not so much so that he was willing to turn it down.

After taking Ichijouji's shirt off of Raidramon's spike and jumping stiffly to the ground, Daisuke looked up at Ichijouji and said, "Need help?" He'd needed help mounting, but getting down should be easier if he was getting stronger.

However, Ichijouji looked away and nodded minimally, so Daisuke caught him and helped him get to the ground without falling. Elecmon looked worried at this demonstration of Ichijouji's weakness, but made no comment on it. Raidramon devolved once they were off his back, and then Elecmon wished them a good night's sleep and saw them into the hut before departing.

Once Ichijouji went down on his hands and knees to get into the hut, he seemed very disinclined to straighten up at all. He crept onto one of the mats and laid down on his belly, shrugging off Daisuke's jacket. Daisuke took it, but tossed it aside; the air within the hut was stagnant and far warmer than the summer night outside. After a moment, he took off his shirt as well.

Veemon murmured, "I hope there's food in the morning."

Smiling a little, Daisuke reached over to pat his partner on the head. "I'm sure there will be." To Ichijouji, he said softly, "You think we can trust them?"

Without opening his eyes, Ichijouji replied, "No, but it's safer to act like we do. The baby Digimon honestly don't know who we are. I'm not so sure about Elecmon, but there's no use in raising suspicions by acting suspiciously. The only danger is maybe if one of the babies is a reborn Digimon that I killed and suddenly remembers that before it's time for us to leave."

"I don't think there's much chance of that. Without all the Kaizer get-up, you don't look a whole lot like yourself." Daisuke laid down on a mat as well, wishing he could go take a dip in the distant stream. "More danger of a Digimon from the Holy Beasts coming and asking after us."

"I think that's a chance we have to take. Veemon needs sleep, and we can't deal with this until he's rested."

"Yeah," said Daisuke. He was so, so tired. "I see that now."

The adrenaline rush of possible discovery had faded, leaving behind only a wrung-out feeling that turned every moment that Daisuke could spend with his eyes closed, not moving, on a mat on the comfortable swept ground, into a positive pleasure. No sounds came from the village outside; all Daisuke could hear was Veemon's soft breathing before sleep overtook him.

He dreamed of their flight across the plains, Raidramon's swaying strides almost nauseating. Behind them, Daisuke could feel the mounting forces that searched for them, growing no more distant no matter how fast Raidramon ran. He felt exposed out on this naked plain, without so much as a rock to hide them, and he was certain that at any moment the malevolent eyes would land on them and they would be found ...

Blind panic yanked Daisuke awake. For an instant, he had no clue where he was either, and his disorientation accelerated until the events of the night before came to mind. Right. The Digimon village.

The hut was flimsy, and the opening to the rest of the digital world let in the brilliance of mid-day along with the sounds of Digimon chattering. Daisuke wondered if perhaps those sounds had intruded into his dreams, become that horrifying sense of _nearness_ that he had somehow known belonged to the minions of the Holy Beasts.

Daisuke was alone in the hot, shaded hut. Neither Veemon nor Ichijouji was in sight, and he couldn't hear their voices among those of the cheerful piping babies. He hunted around a moment for his shirt and didn't find it; he assumed Ichijouji had taken it, and put on his jacket anyway. The quilted satin lining was like a caress. It made him sweat somewhat to put it on, but he felt better with it shielding him. Like armor.

He crept out of the hut and stood up in the blinding sunshine. Shading his eyes, he scanned around for Ichijouji or Veemon.

"Akiyama-san!" called a voice, and Daisuke glanced around because he had no idea to whom this referred and feared that maybe some other Chosen had shown up while he'd slept. The Elecmon scuttled up then, and executed a polite little bow at his feet. "Akiyama-san," said the Elecmon again, and that's when Daisuke recalled with a start that this was supposed to be his name. "The other Chosen Child told me to tell you that he and your Veemon went to the creek and he wanted you to come after them when you woke up."

"Did he now," said Daisuke, amused by the idea of Ichijouji putting on his charm again to pass this message. "I guess I'll head that way then. You wouldn't happen to have any breakfast, would you?"

Elecmon brightened and said, "Of course! It's gotten a little cold, but I expect you won't mind that."

Breakfast was, unexpectedly enough, flakes of some kind of salted meat atop pads of sticky rice, and the whole wrapped in some kind of thin leaf. It was a hundred times better than the sort of stuff he'd been scrounging for the past week, and Daisuke ate until he couldn't possibly eat any more, sitting in the shadow of one of the huts just in case an Airdramon passed overhead. The baby Digimon bounced around him and demanded reassurance that each morsel was to his satisfaction, which made Daisuke laugh and want to play with them. Babies were so cute.

This little village didn't do badly for itself, and Daisuke told Elecmon so. The red-furred Digimon beamed at the compliment, and Daisuke was warmed by the admiration.

It was nice, damned nice, to be appreciated. Elecmon's respect warmed him, and made the events since he'd returned to Skip Phase seem less real. Everything was going to turn out okay, he just knew it.

Breakfast finished, he dusted himself off and took his leave of the Digimon with the intent to find Veemon and Ichijouji.

The forest was quiet and as clear-green as a new leaf, or sun-filled water. Daisuke's heart was light and his steps lively as he walked toward the distant creek, following a narrow trail pounded into the earth by countless baby Digimon bouncing their way to drink.

Ichijouji had concealed himself in a thick brake of fallen branches, which looked to have been wedged up on shore during some flood or other. Sitting within a small, cleared-out hollow in the tangle of silver deadwood, he was virtually invisible from the path, and Daisuke would have missed him entirely if he hadn't said something.

"Motomiya," came his voice as Daisuke passed the brake. "Over here."

Picking his way around the deadfall, Daisuke said, "Why are you hiding in there? Where's Veemon?"

"So that I don't get caught," said Ichijouji patiently. "And could still watch for you. Sit down. Veemon went out to check for signs that there are any Digimon in the area who aren't from the village."

Daisuke broke off a couple of poking branches and settled cross-legged on the ground within the cupped space. He fiddled with one of the branches, a crooked wand of parched wood as long as his forearm. "How do you feel?" he asked Ichijouji.

"A lot better." Ichijouji had his knees up and rested forward against them, his forearms crossed over his knees and his gloved hands hanging limply in the air. Daisuke's grubby white shirt was loose and seemed almost oversized on the boy's narrow shoulders, incongruously mismatching his blue Kaizer pants and the black gloves that concealed the lacerations on his fingers. "I think I'll be okay when we leave tonight."

"Tonight?" Daisuke frowned. He had expected to linger in the little village longer than that. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I figured we'd stay at least a couple of days."

Ichijouji shook his head without looking at him. "The longer we stay in one spot, the more likely we are to be located. We've almost stayed here too long as it is."

Daisuke nodded glumly, and drew a little design in the dirt with the tip of the stick. He knew that Ichijouji was right, although he was very unsure of the advisability of hard travel right now. The other boy might be walking again, but he looked distinctly unwell, with his skin sickly pallid between the cuts and yellow-edged bruises. There was a weariness about him and in his movements, and while Daisuke suspected that no amount of sleep would be able to dispel it, he was fairly certain that a lack of sleep wasn't the thing to pursue either.

Without knowing exactly why, but sure that it would be permitted, Daisuke stripped off one glove and raised a hand to lift a drooping spike of hair from Ichijouji's cheek. He trailed his fingers through the fine strands, still soft although the clean silkiness was no longer present. After a moment, Ichijouji turned a little and looked at him.

"What is it?"

Daisuke just shook his head. He knew that the familiarity between them had been forged deliberately by Ichijouji, that it was artificial and false, but he didn't care. His dirty, nail-bitten fingertips traced Ichijouji's un-bruised cheek.

"At least we'll get some dinner first," he said, unsure why he felt better, less desolately alone with his fingers on Ichijouji's skin, and uneasy about it because he didn't understand. "I bet we can get Elecmon to give us some food to take with us too." Daisuke dropped his hand then, not taking much notice of the way Ichijouji suddenly stared at him. Then something occurred to him, and he said, "Hey, do you think it would be a good idea to maybe tell Elecmon and the babies that it's the _other_ kids who have broken off from the Holy Beasts?"

Ichijouji said nothing.

Warming to the idea, Daisuke said, "That way, if they come looking for us, maybe Elecmon will direct them somewhere else. Not much chance of convincing them that all the Digimon ..."

"Motomiya," interrupted Ichijouji in a low tone, his voice rough. "You _do_ realize that we're going to have to kill every single one of these Digimon, right?"

The tip of the stick that Daisuke still held dug into the ground, and the dry wood snapped in the middle. Daisuke met Ichijouji's incredulous blue eyes, and there was silence for the space of twelve heartbeats, pounding in Daisuke's throat.

"You're kidding," said Daisuke finally.

Ichijouji shook his head slowly.

"But they helped us!" Dropping the broken stick, Daisuke jumped up and faced Ichijouji from the mouth of the hollow, more furious than he could recall being in days. "They gave us their hospitality, and what? You expect me to turn around and repay that by killing them?!"

"Keep it down," said Ichijouji, sounding perfectly reasonable. "I don't expect anything. It's what has to be done."

"Why?" Daisuke demanded.

"There's too much danger in it. They're overlooking a lot of very suspicious things about us just because it has never crossed their minds that a couple of Chosen Children would be anything other than lackeys of the Holy Beasts." Ichijouji regarded him calmly, and continued, "If you put the notion out there, they may very well realize that Chosen Children on a legitimate errand would not be as unprepared as you are, or as injured as I am."

"If we kill them, and someone comes and sees that, they'll know we came this way," said Daisuke stubbornly.

"No, they won't. They will only suspect. And besides, that's better than having your Digimon friends helpfully point out the direction we took when we left."

"Well, I don't care. I won't do it!"

Something hardened to sapphire in Ichijouji's eyes, and glittered there. "If you don't," he said slowly, "you may as well take me back to Skip Phase and yourself back to Tokyo."

There was silence after that, as Daisuke glared furiously at Ichijouji, who eventually looked down at his hands. As before, though, there was no surrender in the action. Daisuke wanted to deck him.

Something of this must have communicated itself through Daisuke's body language, because Ichijouji said quietly, "You like hitting me, don't you?"

"No!" Daisuke told himself that the warmth in his skin was _not_ shame.

"It's okay." Ichijouji fiddled with the seams of his gloves. "I know you wouldn't be here if it weren't for me. I know that you're used to thinking of me as your enemy." He stood up as well, struggling to rise and unsteady once he was upright. "I can't make you do anything. Veemon is your Digimon, not mine. If it helps you to hate me, go ahead and hit me."

"I don't hate you," said Daisuke, his teeth and hand clenched.

Ichijouji looked at him silently. No emotion marred the delicate, bruised features. Then he brushed past Daisuke and limped slowly back up the path, toward the village.

* * *

Veemon found Daisuke several hours later, straddling a branch halfway up a tree a few meters away from the edge of the village clearing. He wasn't hiding, exactly; he had picked a tree well back from the verge in order to be under cover from any stray overflights, not to conceal himself from those on the ground. With his back to the trunk, he watched the babies bounce around the village preparing for dinner in the sliding evening sunlight, and fought the black despair in his throat.

"Daisuke?" called Veemon, and Daisuke glanced down at the ground. He didn't reply, and after a moment Veemon began to scale the tree. Daisuke looked back toward the village, listening to Veemon's hollow scrabbling.

Settling down next to Daisuke and a little above his head on another branch, Veemon said, "What are you doing up here?"

"Thinking," said Daisuke. He idly kicked one foot in midair.

"About what?"

Daisuke didn't answer right away, and when he did, it was only with, "Something Ichijouji said earlier."

"You don't want to kill them, do you?" asked Veemon quietly.

The Digimon in the village were mostly gathered around a small pit, in which a fire had been kindled. A large number of fish were currently impaled on skewers and propped over the flames to cook, or waiting nearby for space at the lip of the pit, while Elecmon and a group of babies were doing something nearby with a cauldron. There was a lot of activity, much of it apparently quite useless, and much bubbly laughter.

"How'd you find out about that?" said Daisuke softly.

"He asked me how I thought it would be best to go about it. One of you needs to get them all together somehow, unless you want me to spend all night hunting them down and probably missing a few. I told him it would probably have to be him, because you are a suck liar."

Although Veemon's appraisal of Daisuke's lying skills wasn't calculated to flatter, it was the utterly casual tone with which he delivered these words that sent ice into Daisuke's skin. After a pause to master his minor shock, he said, "You agree with him then?"

"I wasn't asked my opinion of whether or not we ought to do it, and the Digimon Kaizer doesn't seem like the kind of person who wants opinions volunteered."

"Well, I'm asking now."

Rough sounds of claws on bark came from just out of sight as Veemon rearranged himself. "I don't know. It makes sense."

Daisuke trembled as a moment of blind rage swept through him. "You did not just say that."

"Why not? There really is no other way to make sure our tracks are covered here. Leaving them alive would be a liability, no matter what story you gave them."

"We're not murderers, Veemon." The rage passed, leaving only a bleak weariness in its wake.

_Are you a killer, Motomiya?_

"We've killed Digimon before," said Veemon, sounding puzzled now. "Lots of times."

"Not like this. Never something small and helpless, or just because it was convenient for us. That's something _he_ would do, and we always tried to be better than him."

Several minutes drifted by with silence laying heavily between boy and Digimon. The sun finally crept behind the knee of the nearest mountain, casting a dark pall over forest and village and Daisuke.

"This isn't all that much different," murmured Veemon from the shadow. "It's an us or them thing. Either we kill them, or run the risk that they're going to help bigger Digimon kill us. Besides, it's not like they won't be reformatted or anything. They'll be losing a lot less than they would if they had spent a couple thousand cycles evolving, that's for sure."

This was a point. Daisuke's gaze drifted down into the village, attracted by motion near the fire that differed from the rest. Ichijouji was there, among the creatures he hated, smiling graciously at the Digimon who clustered around him as if he _weren't_ contemplating horrible deaths for them all. How did he do it? How could he put on such an angelic face and still wish them dead?

Daisuke felt dirty.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go get some dinner."

"It's up to you," said Veemon, as he began to shimmy down the tree. "I won't do anything you don't want me to do, and it's not like the Kaizer can kill anybody. He can barely keep from falling over most of the time."

"Great," muttered Daisuke. He picked his way down the tree with difficulty. Life or death decisions were exactly what he _didn't_ need at the moment.

* * *

If the Digimon noticed Daisuke's silence through the meal, none of them commented upon it. Perhaps they respected his right to be morose if he wished. Perhaps they were only enthralled by Veemon's war stories. Daisuke wasn't sure. He wasn't sure he really cared.

As Veemon told the village Digimon a rather embellished tale that was only loosely based on the battle fought between the Chosen Children and the inhabitants of File Island several months earlier, Daisuke found himself watching Ichijouji. The firelight sparked gold off his dark eyes and hair, but did nothing to bring color to his cheeks or impassive lips. He sat with a baby Digimon snuggled in his lap, and two more nestled against his thighs, which Daisuke found rather morbid and somewhat disturbing.

Clearly, the Digimon found nothing untoward about Ichijouji, and were charmed and trusting. Ichijouji was even petting the one in his lap. Were it not for the marks of torture on him, Daisuke might have started to believe what Qinglongmon had said about his plausibility; as it was, Daisuke had cause to seriously wonder what sort of person he'd allied himself to when he'd decided that he couldn't leave Ichijouji to die.

_I guess they really didn't want to kill him,_ thought Daisuke suddenly. _Unless they were just being cruel for no reason, why carve a message about Ichijouji's obedience into his back if they were just going to kill him later?_ Until that moment, Daisuke had assumed that Ichijouji had been correct about the Holy Beasts' intentions, and that the orders given to capture him and bring him back alive had been simply to cozen the Chosen with their apparent compassion. There was also the possibility, however, that the Holy Beasts issued this order because they really wanted the Kaizer alive. They must have wanted their prodigal son to come home.

Daisuke shuddered a little, although the night was warm and the nearby fire made it almost _too_ warm. That was a far more horrible fate than death, because at least Ichijouji could die with his defiance intact. Daisuke wondered how long it would have taken to force Ichijouji to swear fealty to the Holy Beasts, and how much he would have suffered beneath the palace before they believed him to be sincere. He wondered if the Holy Beasts would have inserted Ichijouji into his team afterward, once Ichijouji had been "rehabilitated," and "convinced" of the error of his ways.

Veemon's white fangs glistened in the firelight as he regaled his audience with a lurid description of Vamdemon's stronghold defenses and the tactics used by Metal Greymon and Were Garurumon to break them. Daisuke smiled a little to himself; that fight had been Taichi and Yamato's last. They'd all suspected that it would be, as Jyou had been honorably retired six months earlier amid much pomp and circumstance in the capital, and the two of them had been determined to make their last fight a memorable one.

It was strange, though ... Veemon was displaying no problems with entertaining the village Digimon, despite his willingness to slay them all, and he effortlessly kept Daisuke's assumed name straight in his stories. He had that much in common with Ichijouji, anyway.

Ichijouji glanced at Daisuke, and despite the kind hand that still moved over the Digimon he held, his eyes were dark and ruthless. Feeling vaguely ashamed and not sure why, Daisuke looked back toward the fire for a moment before standing.

"Come on," he said. "Time to get moving." He offered Ichijouji a hand up.

A collective "Aww!" rose from the crowd of baby Digimon, and Elecmon hopped up from the edge of the group.

"Are you sure?" it asked, concerned. "Shouldn't you wait until morning?"

"Nope," said Daisuke. "We can make just as good of time at night as during the day." He smiled at the knee-high Digimon and felt sick.

"Before we go," said Ichijouji, and his voice was soft and modulated. "Do you happen to know where a computer might be nearby?"

A stray breeze teased ribbons up out of the fire pit, and ruffled Elecmon's feathers as the Digimon considered. "I don't know for sure, but I think the Datamon up the side of the mountain probably has one."

Sharply, as if he hadn't expected an affirmative answer, Ichijouji asked, "Where? I really need one, and mine was broken."

"It's that mountain over there." Elecmon sounded bemused as it turned and indicated the direction. "The one you see back behind this one. About halfway up the southern face. He's pretty hard to find, though, and I'm not certain he has one."

"Thank you," said Ichijouji, and he offered Elecmon a deep bow of extreme gratitude ... or apology. Then he looked sidelong at Daisuke, and his expression was a question.

Feeling wretched, Daisuke nodded a little and turned his back. He pulled out his D-terminal and fiddled with it in preparation to evolve Veemon, while behind him Ichijouji said brightly, "Is everyone here? Maybe we should all sing a song together before we go."

"Come here, Veemon," said Daisuke softly, and Veemon came. He gazed at his partner, and found nothing in the dark red eyes but accepting trust. Holding out his Digivice, lead settling into his stomach, he said weakly, "Digimental up."

_"Veemon ... armor Digivolve to ... Raidramon!"_

A low "Oooh!" of astonishment came from the assembled babies, who had doubtless never seen an evolution before. Ichijouji was addressing them, saying something that Daisuke consciously blocked out; he could make a good guess anyway. Mildly surprised the Digimental had functioned under these circumstances, Daisuke slapped Raidramon fondly on the neck.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked softly, hoping the answer would be _no._ He briefly checked the tracker on his Digivice to see if anyone was nearby, and then flipped it off.

"I'll do whatever you think is best, Daisuke," said Raidramon in the same undertone.

Daisuke swallowed. "Go do it then." Raidramon nuzzled his hair and then padded around him toward the fire. Daisuke felt like going into the forest to throw up.

Ichijouji said some final thing, and Daisuke detected not even the first note of remorse in the sound. Then Raidramon's deep voice called out his intent to attack, and it was too late too call it all off. Daisuke squeezed his eyes shut as the babies screamed and were slaughtered.

Elecmon put up a fight. It wasn't seriously affected by Raidramon's electrical primary attack, and launched itself courageously at the larger Armor Digimon; Daisuke heard the scuffle and wet crunch of living bone as Raidramon physically crushed it. There was a pathetic whimper from a baby Digimon who hadn't been killed outright, and then another moist sound of something without bones being pulped. It went mercifully quiet then, and a night bird whistled its song far away in the forest.

Daisuke found himself down on his knees with no memory of falling. He felt cold, and his throat was painfully closed. _I can't believe I did that ... I can't believe I did that ..._

"You okay?" asked Ichijouji softly, and a hand touched Daisuke's shoulder.

"I can't believe I did that," Daisuke whispered. He raised a hand to wipe his face and discovered that he was shaking.

Ichijouji made a non-committal sound, and a moment later said, "Well, I'm going to go check their supplies. Let me know when you've got a grip on yourself."

Rage lifted Daisuke to his feet and shoved Ichijouji in the shoulder to turn him around before the other boy could limp more than a meter away. Although Ichijouji stumbled at the sudden assault, he regained his balance after a second and faced Daisuke with the serenity of what was surely madness.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"How can you be so ... so cold!" Daisuke swallowed against the bile in his throat; out of the corner of his eye, he could see Elecmon's broken corpse surrounded by the charred lumps of the babies, and the stench of blood and cooked flesh threatened the integrity of his dinner. The flickering light of the fire sent weird shadows dancing through the corpses. "They trusted us, and we killed them! We at least owe it to them not to ... to _loot_ their homes!"

"We need at least blankets and something to carry things in," said Ichijouji flatly. "It wouldn't hurt to grab whatever food they might have laying around too. Motomiya ... it's not like they're going to need it now."

"It's disrespectful," said Daisuke.

"Disrespectful. Okay."

Daisuke had nothing to say to that. After a brief silence, Ichijouji moved away, and Daisuke did not stop him. By the fire, Raidramon nudged the body of one of the baby Digimon he'd been so recently entertaining, to make sure it was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

It was slow going through the foothills of the mountains, walking in the louring shadows cast by the peaks in the morning. Daisuke rode with his head between two of Raidramon's shoulder spikes, his thoughts sluggish and his eyes wide and downcast. Ichijouji sat behind him as before, leaning back a little against the rolled-up blankets and full satchel that were tightly bound to Raidramon's armor. His hands, however, still rested on Daisuke's hips for balance. 

Raidramon and Ichijouji had consulted some before they'd left the ruined village, and Raidramon was now choosing his own path according to whatever Ichijouji's wishes had been at the time. Daisuke didn't much care at the moment. In a very real way, he just wanted to curl up and die, and not have to live with what he'd done, what he'd _ordered_ Raidramon to do. 

He hadn't just allowed it. He hadn't just stood back and let it happen. He'd actively told Raidramon to do it. That was worse than just letting Ichijouji do whatever he felt necessary, and a hundred times worse than stopping the massacre. There had to have been some other option ... he'd acted rashly, given in to Ichijouji's demand too quickly. Surely there must have been some other way to handle the situation, some path that wouldn't have been paved in blood. 

The terrified squeaks of the baby Digimon as they'd died had haunted him all night, and continued to plague him even now in the gray morning light. This wasn't what he'd wanted. None of this should have happened, should _be_ happening. 

"It's not what I wanted either," said Ichijouji quietly; Daisuke startled a little and realized that he must have voiced at least part of what he was thinking. He couldn't recall which bits. 

Daisuke paused a little before saying, "You liar. You wanted to, you told me to."

"It had to be done. That doesn't mean I wanted to." 

Fury curled in Daisuke's chest, and he jerked away from Ichijouji and jumped off of Raidramon to the ground. "You liar!" he said, stumbling a bit because the ground was somewhat unexpectedly sloped. The rage felt good; it filled the sick emptiness that had been hollowing him out since the slaughter. "You liar! You hate them, you said so yourself! You would have wanted to kill them even if there had been no reason to, so I don't know why I listened to you!" 

Ichijouji wrapped his arms around his belly and looked down at Daisuke with unbroken calm. After a moment he said, "You're right. I would have." 

"Damned right I'm right! So how can you say you didn't want to kill them! Tell me that!" Daisuke's fists clenched. 

Somewhat awkwardly, Ichijouji raised up one foot and rested it on Raidramon's shoulder. He looked so frail ... and yet so dangerous at the same time. Like a thin dagger that could either kill, or snap in half at any moment. "I don't want to hate them," he said quietly. "I do, but ..." He glanced away, out into the forest. "I wish I didn't." 

Daisuke opened his mouth for an angry rejoinder to that, but Ichijouji raised a hand to forestall it; the dark glove trembled, and Daisuke left his words unsaid. "I wish I'd never come here," said the Kaizer. "I don't want to hate them, but I don't have a choice. So yes, I would have wanted to kill them even if it hadn't been necessary. But I don't _want_ to want that." 

Although Daisuke waited for more, Ichijouji went quiet then. He didn't really get that. How could you want to do something, and yet not want to? That would be like ... like wanting candy, but feeling guilty just about the fact that he wanted some. It didn't make sense to him. 

"I don't really get that," he said finally. His anger was gone now. Ichijouji did not reply, and eventually Daisuke got back up onto his Digimon. Raidramon did not break his silence, and started once more up the foothills. 

* * *

They halted again mid-morning under dense tree cover. Farther up the slope, Ichijouji said the tree cover was sparser as the ground became rocky, and Daisuke didn't question him. 

"We'll cross that tonight then," he said, and Ichijouji just nodded. 

He remained angry at Ichijouji, finding the cold-eyed boy an easier target for his rage than himself. Nevertheless, when they dismounted Raidramon, he temporarily forgot his anger when he noticed how weak the night and morning of hard travel had made his companion; Ichijouji's hands shook, and he went down onto his knees almost immediately after hitting the ground. He remained upright for a few minutes, but then lay down on his belly in the leaves, trembling. 

Once Daisuke got the blankets and satchel untied from Raidramon's armor and let his Digimon devolve, he went over to Ichijouji and crouched near his head. "You okay?" he asked. 

"Yeah," said Ichijouji, although there were spots of fresh blood on his shoulder, within the rusty stain. "I'm just ... really tired." 

Daisuke took off his gloves and jacket and said, "You should rest. You're bleeding again." 

"Am I?" Ichijouji made an effort to glance at his shoulder, but gave up fairly quickly. "I'll live," he declared, but Daisuke didn't like the ashen shade of his skin or the way he delicately shivered. 

"Want something to eat?" When Ichijouji made an assenting sound and struggled to sit up, Daisuke helped him upright and then dug out some of the cooked rice they'd taken from the village. They also had a good quantity of smoked fish, but since the rice would spoil a lot sooner Daisuke preferred to eat that first. He handed one of the leaf-wrapped packets to Ichijouji and another two to Veemon. 

"I'm sorry that you had to do that," said Ichijouji softly. 

His fury returning, Daisuke scowled and said nothing. After a silent pause, Ichijouji added, "I hope you never have to get used to it." 

"Veemon and I have deleted plenty of Digimon before that," said Daisuke defensively. Did he imagine the pitying tone in Ichijouji's words? Either way, he didn't like it. 

Shaking his head a little, Ichijouji did not reply. 

"You're not the only one who's killed Digimon before," said Daisuke stubbornly. 

"That doesn't make you a killer," said Ichijouji quietly, settling down on his belly again. 

"Well, what does?" Daisuke had denied this accusation before, somewhat illogically, just because it was the Digimon Kaizer making it. But now he wondered what sort of criteria Ichijouji was using to define the term. 

Dark eyes, soft with drowsiness, tilted up toward him. "You'll know it when you're there," he said. Then he glanced down at the ground a moment before closing his eyes. 

Veemon, finished eating, moved over to sit next to Daisuke's thigh. They rested this way in companionable silence for a long time, while Ichijouji's breathing evened out and the wind rubbed the mistletoe in the tree branches. Finally, Veemon said, "He doesn't look very dangerous now, does he?" 

"No," said Daisuke quietly, and it was true. Unrolling one of the blankets, Daisuke spread it over Ichijouji and folded down the top edge; the other boy did not wake. "But you don't look very dangerous either, when you're sleeping." 

* * *

"It's not like that." 

Still caught up in the context of his dream, Daisuke couldn't immediately place the voice. He knew that it was waking him up, though. 

"Then what's it like? I've seen the code, but Wormmon could never explain what it feels like." 

There was a long pause, during which Daisuke attempted to nestle back down into sleep. He had almost succeeded too, almost drawn about himself the threads of his escaping dream, when Raidramon's voice said, "It's like ... I knew what it wanted. I knew what was best for it. We all worked together, to make sure everything functioned the way it was supposed to. Nobody had to tell me what I was supposed to do, it just ..." The Digimon broken off, sounding frustrated, and there was a scraping sound. "It was like hunger, or thirst. When I'm thirsty, it's uncomfortable. I know what to do to make it stop. Sort of like that." 

"Can you still feel it that way? Even a little?" 

Daisuke grumbled a bit and pressed his forehead to the warm ground. He shouldn't have evolved up Veemon before going to sleep, he could see that now. Veemon's voice didn't carry the way Raidramon's did. It wouldn't have taken that long to evolve him in the event of a surprise attack anyway ... "No," said the Digimon thoughtfully. "Only him now." 

Cracking open one eye, Daisuke glared around until he spotted Ichijouji, sitting within the boundaries of Raidramon's front legs and leaning companionably against the Digimon's chest, for all the world as if they weren't bitter enemies. Licking the stickiness off his lips and sitting up, he said, "What time is it?" 

Ichijouji pulled out his Digivice and said, "Almost eight. Should be dark soon." 

"How far is it to where the trees start to thin out?" 

"Mmmm ... Raidramon is pretty fast. Maybe half an hour or so?" 

Daisuke paused in the process of getting up, yawned widely, and wished he could go back to sleep for another hour or so. "We'll go ahead and start then, and by the time we get there it should be full dark." 

Nodding, Ichijouji struggled to stand, and succeeded on the third attempt when Raidramon gave him an unobtrusive aiding claw. Daisuke folded the blankets and rolled them up, and began to bind everything to the flared section of armor over Raidramon's croup. He noted that this was a hell of a lot easier with his Digimon laying down. "So what were you two talking about?" 

As Ichijouji came around to lean against Raidramon's side opposite Daisuke, the Digimon said, "The Kaizer wanted to know if I noticed the change when I was bound to you." 

"What change?" Daisuke pulled the rope taut and tied it off. 

"Digimon are connected to the digital world," said Ichijouji quietly. "At least, normally they are. They're a part of it, in a way." 

"But since I'm bound to you," said Raidramon, "I've sort of lost that. Traded it for a connection with you." 

Daisuke glanced at Raidramon. "I didn't know that," he said, somewhat blankly, unsure how to think of this. Had Raidramon sacrificed something important for him? 

"I don't think any of the Chosen Children know," said Ichijouji. "I had no idea until I got into the code. The Digimon don't think to mention it. Their connection to the digital world is just ... instinctive, I think." 

"Yes," said Raidramon. "That's exactly it." 

"So how'd you find out?" asked Daisuke. He held out a hand. Ichijouji looked at it doubtfully for a moment before taking it in his own, at which point Daisuke attempted to haul him up onto the reclining Digimon's back. 

"I told you," said Ichijouji once he'd gotten the idea and was settled in front of the packs. "I was looking through the code and found that." 

"Yeah, I heard that, but what's _the code?"_ As soon as Daisuke was mounted as well, Raidramon rocked himself to his feet. The motion made Ichijouji tense, and hold tightly to Daisuke's back; Daisuke wondered why this didn't bother him. It almost felt nice, in fact, the way it had during the flight from Skip Phase before he'd found out that his rescue of the boy hadn't meant taking him home after all. Before he'd destroyed an entire village for his own convenience. 

Daisuke decided that if he could find comfort in Ichijouji's dependence on him, he was insufficiently furious. Yet he couldn't quite bring himself to shrug the touch away once Raidramon was upright and underway. 

"The code is the ... I guess you'd call it a program." Ichijouji's voice was soft as he leaned against Daisuke's back. "Only that's sort of like calling you a cooperative collection of cells. The word just doesn't do justice to the complexity of it." 

Daisuke recalled Koushiro mentioning this a time or three, although Daisuke hadn't understood it, and consequently hadn't paid any attention. "Why is it in code?" he asked. 

"Because computers don't speak Japanese," said Ichijouji. 

"Hah. Hah." 

"Well, it's true." 

"No, it isn't. I type in Japanese on computers all the time." 

Ichijouji sighed; the sound would have been imperceptible but for the fact that he was in such close contact with Daisuke. "The computer doesn't understand what you're typing. It's complicated, Motomiya, just trust me on this one." 

"Fine, fine." Daisuke frowned as Raidramon ascended a sharp bank to a higher level. Ichijouji's grip on him tightened as the Digimon's back tilted. The scent of damp earth, turned up by Raidramon's claws, filled Daisuke's nostrils. 

"You know something?" said Ichijouji suddenly. 

"I know lots of things." 

"Did you know that I haven't heard an Airdramon in two days?" 

Daisuke went silent for a moment. "Neither have I," he said finally. 

"I wonder what that means," said Ichijouji quietly. 

Daisuke didn't know, so he said nothing. 

* * *

In the dim blue light of the waning digital moon, the three of them crossed the rocky ground that led to a lighted cave higher up on the mountain face. There was virtually no cover, as they had left the trees behind an hour ago, and since Raidramon's weight would have displaced far too much debris, he climbed the mountain as Veemon instead. 

Daisuke felt very exposed, as if the mountain itself had thrust him out into the air, on display to any stray overflying Digimon. 

It was cooler up here as well, the balmy summer air burning rapidly away into the night, and Ichijouji was having a lot of trouble. In the three days since they'd left the little Digimon village to scale the mountains, Ichijouji had failed to regain much strength, and lost most of it again during each night's travel. Daisuke had tried pushing more food on him the day before, but Ichijouji had refused it, and had seemed very annoyed by the attempt. The going was exceptionally slow, though, as Daisuke didn't dare leave him behind, and he wasn't sure Ichijouji could climb on his own without the assistance of Daisuke's arm. 

The shadow of a large boulder offered a slender promise of cover, and Daisuke helped Ichijouji settle into it before waving Veemon over as well and dropping their supplies to the ground. Ichijouji glanced pensively upward toward the cave, where light slipped under and around the edges of a door. 

"I hope this thing has a computer," he said quietly. Daisuke could feel him trembling with exhaustion, but his words were steady and strong. 

"What are you going to do if he doesn't?" Daisuke was exhausted as well, although he hadn't quite reached the stage that Ichijouji was in; carrying the satchel and blankets in addition to much of Ichijouji's weight on an uphill incline was fraying him. 

The dark form beside him shrugged a bit. "Despair." 

"Hey," said Daisuke, keeping his voice down although there was anger in his tone. "We're going to get home. Remember that." 

"Mmmm." Ichijouji didn't sound very optimistic. "If I had a good computer, I could make some Rings, conscript an escort. We'd have a real chance." 

"Datamon always have computers," said Daisuke confidently, although he wasn't totally sure of this himself. 

"Mmmm," said Ichijouji again. 

"Maybe we should leave the Kaizer here," said Veemon. 

Daisuke shook his head. "Do you know how screwed he'd be if he were spotted out here alone?" 

"He's going to be a target no matter where he is. But we know for a fact that there's a Digimon up there, and we _don't_ know for a fact that someone will find him here." 

"Yeah, but at least we have a shot at protecting him if he comes with us." 

Veemon gave Ichijouji a level, appraising look. "I still don't like him, you know," he said, although there was no rancor in the words. 

Ichijouji glanced away. "That's too bad," he said mildly, almost as if he regretted Veemon's dislike. 

Daisuke snorted. "Whatever. You don't have to like him, but we sort of need him to try opening the Gates." 

Turning around a little so he could look up toward the cave, Veemon said, "I know." 

Daisuke wondered then, what Veemon would do when he and Ichijouji left for the other world. Would he come with them? Live forever in a world that wasn't his own? Or would he stay here? Daisuke didn't know, and now wasn't the time to ask. 

He fondly stroked Veemon's head, as if the Digimon were a pet instead of a partner. Veemon looked at him, his eyes shadowed and invisible. 

"What is it?" 

"Nothing," said Daisuke. "Are we ready?" 

He had his doubts about Ichijouji, but the darker boy nodded a little, and this really didn't surprise Daisuke. This expedition was almost entirely Ichijouji's idea, and now the end of it was in sight. 

"Why don't we leave the stuff here?" said Veemon, as Daisuke hefted the satchel again. 

"I don't want to have to come back for it," said Daisuke. Veemon looked up into the sky for a moment, and then nodded. 

"All right. So what's the plan?" 

Daisuke rose unsteadily to his feet and offered a hand up to Ichijouji. "We're going to get the rest of the way up this damned mountain," he said. "You're going to Digivolve right at the entrance to that cave and bust in the door. We're going to leave the packs and Ichijouji next to the cave until we've got the situation under control. Then we'll see what all we've got." 

"Make sure you break as little as possible," said Ichijouji quietly, his voice strained. 

"Thank you, Mr. I-lost-to-Motomiya-Daisuke, for sharing that inspired tactical advice," said Daisuke, frowning. "We know what we're doing." 

"I know you can win," said Ichijouji calmly. If Daisuke had expected a resurgence of the temper that had caused him to refuse the extra food the day before, he was to be disappointed. "I've just seen how you fight, and I've never noticed any particular effort to not damage the scenery. If there's a computer in there, and it gets destroyed, I won't be able to fix it." 

His frown sharpening, Daisuke just stared at Ichijouji. The boy was right, he really was ... neither Raidramon nor Flamedramon possessed the capability for precision attacks, and Datamon were pretty dangerous. Daisuke didn't know how big the cave behind that door was, or what all was in there. Veemon was going to have his hands full as it was, without worrying about breaking stuff. Would there be maneuvering room inside the cave? 

Daisuke was deeply tempted to just ignore Ichijouji and go ahead with a frontal assault. He was, however, a good leader, even if that meant admitting that he hadn't thought things all the way through. 

"All right, genius," he said. "What do _you_ suggest?" 

* * *

They abandoned Ichijouji a long way up the mountainside, a good distance above the level of the cave and tented in one of the dull gray blankets that they'd taken from the Digimon village. With it pulled up over his head and draped loosely about him, it was hoped that he would be concealed from all but the closest inspection while still being able to watch what went on downslope. 

Daisuke and Veemon slid down the talus slope, making no effort to conceal themselves, but making great effort to seem to be in a hurry. Ichijouji's original idea was unworkable, mostly due to Daisuke's poor lying skills, and so it had been modified around this limitation. "What was my name again?" he asked Veemon. 

"Akiyama Ryou," said Veemon immediately. 

Daisuke frowned a little. "Why not a name I can remember?" 

"Ask the Kaizer. He didn't tell me." 

They overshot the level of the cave in their haste, and had to scramble back up toward the door. Once there, Daisuke immediately rapped on the weather-worn wood while trying to catch his breath; his knuckles made a dry, hollow sound. 

The door was smaller than it had looked from below. Most of the cave's mouth was simply bricked up, he now saw, leaving a doorway that was rather too low for a human. Flamedramon could probably have bulled his way through and into the cave anyway, but it would have taken some time. 

The little door, the upper limit of which was just below the level of Daisuke's chin, cracked open almost immediately; the Digimon must have heard them clattering down the slope. "Yes, yes," said the Digimon, peeking out through the lighted crack. "What are you doing up here, and what do you want? Can't you see I want my privacy?" From what Daisuke could see of the Digimon, it _was_ a Datamon. 

"We need your help," said Daisuke breathlessly. "We've tracked the Digimon Kaizer and the Chosen Child who is assisting him to this area. We know he's nearby, but we lost his trail and if we don't pick it up again soon he's going to get away." He paused to sniff and wipe his nose, but didn't pause long because he knew he'd never be believable if he didn't rush through this. "Veemon and I are unfamiliar with this area. Could you come help us pick up their trail again?" 

The Datamon's one visible eye widened slightly during this recitation, but then narrowed when Daisuke finished. "What's your name?" he asked suspiciously. 

Daisuke tripped over it a bit, and hoped the Digimon would put it down to how out of breath he was. "Akiyama Ryou," he said. 

The yellow eye slid down to Veemon, and then back up toward the human. There was a short pause, during which the Datamon regarded them silently. "No," said the Datamon, and then slammed the door shut. 

Nonplussed, Daisuke took a step back. He glanced at Veemon, who shrugged at him. "It didn't work," he whispered. 

Veemon made a gesture at the door. "Try it again," murmured the Digimon. "Make him believe it." 

"How? _I_ don't believe it!" 

With a little snort, Veemon muttered, "I told the Kaizer you were a suck liar, but nobody listens to the Digimon." 

"I do." Daisuke pulled out his Digivice. "I guess we do this the hard way." 

Veemon perked up immediately. Despite his proficiency with the same brand of equivocation that seemed to come naturally to Ichijouji, Veemon liked to fight, and there hadn't been a lot of fighting recently. _Not since the last battle with the Kaizer, really,_ thought Daisuke. 

The thready light coming around the edges of the door was soon swamped by the brilliance of Veemon Digivolving. Something wasn't right, though. Daisuke's Digivice felt ... peculiar in his hand. As Flamedramon began to assault the entrance to the cave, however, there was no time to pursue this. He flipped off his Digivice and stuffed it back into his pocket, and stepped to one side to avoid debris. 

It occurred to him, after the wall fell in under Flamedramon's armored claws, that perhaps he maybe should have given the deception thing another try. 

* * *

As the night began to turn toward morning, Ichijouji found Daisuke at the entrance to the cave, Veemon dozing against his leg. Daisuke was sitting on a fallen chunk of brick, turning his Digivice over and over in his hands; how Ichijouji had managed to get himself safely down the mountainside would mystify Daisuke afterward, as the boy was limping slowly when he came around the edge of boulder that concealed the irregular cave. 

"I saw the lights," said Ichijouji. 

Daisuke nodded. "I'm sorry." 

Ichijouji just looked at him for a long time, then moved around Daisuke to survey the scorched wreckage inside the cave. Daisuke glanced down, unable to face him as he passed. 

The Digivice in his hands was black. 

* * *

Daisuke heard Ichijouji approach, and knew that he was standing in the shattered doorway, although the boy was silent. Finally, Daisuke said, "Did you find anything?" 

He startled when something crashed to the ground beside him with a tinny clatter. It was a flat rectangle of steel, painted a bland beige on one side, somewhat bent and blackened by smoke. Part of the case of a computer. 

"I'm sorry," he said again. 

"Yeah," said Ichijouji. 

"He didn't believe me." 

Ichijouji didn't answer right away, and when he did, it was only to say, "Let's stay here today." 

"I tried," said Daisuke. 

Veemon, woken by the racket, said, "He did. _I_ thought he was convincing!" 

"It doesn't matter," said Ichijouji. A scraping sound came to Daisuke's ears as the other boy limped back into the cave. "We'll stay here today and maybe something else will come up later." 

Feeling like an immense failure, and unaccountably furious with Ichijouji, Daisuke wanted to scream at him. He felt that, somehow, this was all Ichijouji's fault ... it certainly wasn't _his own_ fault that he couldn't lie like a demon. If Ichijouji was so damned clever, he should have known ahead of time that Daisuke wouldn't be able to pull off that stupid plan. He should have been able to come up with a way to get that Datamon out of his stupid hole that Daisuke would be able to swing. 

Daisuke and his Digimon sat in silence, and it wasn't until the sun began to creep up over the horizon that they went back into the Datamon's cave. 

The chamber immediately inside the cave was perfectly round, like a vast blown bubble within the rock; Daisuke wasn't sure if it had come that way, or if the Datamon had altered the cave to suit. It was here that Daisuke had realized the enormity of his error when he saw the hunks of melted silicon and charred twists of metal that had been electronics of some kind an hour earlier. All Datamon collected computer components, whether working or not, and of course it was impossible to tell now whether the stuff that Flamedramon had destroyed had been working. 

It was also here that the Datamon had died. Daisuke hadn't told Flamedramon to do that, but he trusted that his partner wouldn't have done so if it hadn't been necessary. Even so, the stench of burned flesh turned his stomach, and he'd pulled a tangle of wires over the Datamon's body so he wouldn't see the cracked metal casing and shattered glass out of the corner of his eye. Another death, and while as before it was Ichijouji's desires that had led to it, it was Daisuke's partner who actually did the deed. 

Ichijouji was trying to shift the wreckage of some shelving on one side of the cave, and was having visible difficulty. Daisuke did not bother to help him. 

"This is all your fault, you know," said Daisuke accusingly. 

"How do you figure?" said Ichijouji. 

"You were the one who wanted to come here to look for a computer. If we hadn't come here, none of this would have happened!" 

Ichijouji left off trying to move the shelving and turned around to face Daisuke; the crease between his elegant dark brows matched the confused downturn of his mouth. "What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Veemon wouldn't have had to kill anyone if we hadn't come here!" he said heatedly. "It's just like the baby Digimon. _That_ wasn't necessary either!" 

He expected Ichijouji to yell back at him, but gentle confusion was all he got. "What in the world are you talking about?" asked the other boy. 

"You!" said Daisuke. "If you wanted someone to come lie to the Datamon, you should have done it yourself! You knew I couldn't do that sort of thing." 

"I knew you weren't going to be good at it, but I didn't think it was impossible." Ichijouji glanced about himself, and then sat down on a shattered computer monitor. It creaked ominously under his weight. "And you know I wouldn't have been able to do that myself." 

Daisuke did know this, but fury knew no logic. "That's your fault too," he said. "I tried to make you eat more yesterday. If you'd _eat_ a little, maybe you wouldn't be so weak!" 

There was a moment of stunned silence while Ichijouji's frown deepened before he said, "You did this to me." His voice was low and intense, full of a pent-up rage that Daisuke hadn't heard from him before, and the words were such a complete turnaround from the boy's earlier easy forgiveness that Daisuke flushed. 

Shame at the truth of the accusation didn't stop Daisuke from acting on his own anger, though. 

Veemon said, "Hey!", indignant, but Daisuke said nothing. Instead, he took three steps forward, closing the distance between himself and Ichijouji, and before he knew it he had grabbed the injured boy by the shoulders and slammed him up against a broad stone partition that jutted out into the room. Ichijouji made a strangled, whimpering sound of agony when his lacerated back hit the stone, but the defiant strength that had allowed him to race for freedom in the real world despite his fatigue, and given him the ability to turn and fight the Gizamon trying to force him down that horrible underground hallway, seemed to be absent now. 

"You listen to me," said Daisuke through gritted teeth. "I was doing what I thought was _right._ If you had said something to me earlier, like _before_ that last battle, none of this would have happened!" 

Ichijouji said nothing. His eyes closed in pain, which only prompted Daisuke to shove him even harder to draw out another gasp. "Why didn't you _tell_ us?" Daisuke demanded, irrational. If Ichijouji had told him sooner, maybe his Digivice wouldn't be black now. 

"You wouldn't have believed me," panted Ichijouji. His arms felt very thin where Daisuke held him, and although he was trembling a little, he continued to offer no resistance to the assault. "You almost didn't as it ... Ahhhh!" He cried out a little as Daisuke shook him again. "You're hurting me ..." 

Something about Ichijouji's slenderness and tangible suffering sparked off an instinct that, a month ago, Daisuke hadn't known he possessed. In the sanity of daylight, Daisuke could deny Ichijouji's fragile beauty if he wanted to, but in the half-light of morning with the stench of smoke and dead Digimon condemning him, he was less able to resist the boy's allure. His rage made him violent. 

Before he really knew what he was doing, Daisuke had crushed Ichijouji between the stone partition and his own body, their lips together in a bruising kiss. Ichijouji stiffened with a muffled sound of protest, but Daisuke had had enough of his smooth words and cold logic. It wasn't fair that Ichijouji could be the cause of everything and never have to pay for it. It was _his_ fault that Daisuke's Digivice had turned black. It was _his_ fault that Veemon had to keep killing these Digimon who had never done them any harm. It was _his_ fault that they were out here in the middle of nowhere in the first place, and it was _his_ fault the computers had all gotten smashed. 

Daisuke was unaware that he'd become hard until Ichijouji tore free from the kiss and turned his head to one side; the motion of Ichijouji's body rubbed against Daisuke's erection. The air in Daisuke's lungs was suddenly far too warm, far too thick with the scent of Ichijouji's sweat and blood. 

"Stop," whispered Ichijouji, but the word did not really mean anything to Daisuke. Ichijouji had _wanted_ this before, wanted to be kissed, and when Daisuke had hurt him in the process Ichijouji had asked why he'd stopped. The boy's shivering was intoxicating; Daisuke pressed his lips against the pale ear hidden behind dark spikes of hair as Ichijouji's hands touched his arms. 

Then, in a blink, Daisuke's feet had come out from under him and he was assisted to the ground with a deceptively gentle shove. Breathing hard, confused and smarting along one side where he hit the stone floor, he started to get up but was kicked back down again. Then Veemon's voice came to him as the Digimon attacked Ichijouji, and he looked up just in time to see the scuffle of blue as Ichijouji attempted to defend himself. 

"Veemon, don't," said Daisuke, licking his lip; Ichijouji had split it earlier during the shortcut through the real world, and the injury was open again. Veemon stopped immediately, giving Daisuke a querulous look. 

"But he hit you!" 

Ichijouji, backed up into the corner between the partition and the curved wall, wiped his mouth with the back of one shaking hand. There was a blank wildness in the dark blue eyes that stopped Daisuke cold. 

"It's okay," he said to Veemon. "Leave him alone." The way Daisuke should have. His cheeks burned. 

Veemon gave Daisuke an inscrutable look, but backed away from Ichijouji. "I'm not even going to ask what you were doing," he said as he moved toward the entrance to the cave, his claws scraping on the stone. 

Ichijouji's breathing slowed, and the wildness faded a bit. Daisuke eventually sat up again, ashamed of himself, and yet he couldn't seem to look away from the willowy boy before him. 

"I'm sorry," he said eventually. And he was. 

There was something dark and dangerous in Ichijouji's shadowed eyes, but his voice was mild and a bit strained when he replied, "It's all right." 

Daisuke said nothing more, and didn't move when Ichijouji eventually came out of the corner and detoured around him to reach the passage to the rest of the Datamon's home inside the mountain. When he dared to glance after the retreating boy, though, his skin prickled ... the message cut into Ichijouji's back was faintly visible in broken lines of dark stipples. 

Daisuke lay down on his belly, facing the mouth of the cave, and felt wretched. 

* * *

The day was miserably hot just inside the cave where Daisuke attempted to bed down; the sun baked the rocks outside, and the heat reflected back up into the darkness where Daisuke lay. The heat woke him midmorning, and while Veemon snored happily in the warmth, Daisuke was sweating. Around noon he gave up trying to sleep there and moved back into the cave. Where Ichijouji was. 

Daisuke tried to move quietly, but after the brilliance of the sky outside, the interior of the cave was prohibitively dark. He tripped twice over debris. 

"Are you all right?" asked Ichijouji quietly, from the darkness of the passage deeper into the mountain. 

"Yeah," said Daisuke, although his toes were stinging. He was glad he couldn't see Ichijouji. "Did I wake you?" 

"No. I was wondering when you'd come back here." 

Sitting down on the cool floor on the opposite side of the cave from the Datamon's corpse, Daisuke said, "It's pretty hot out." 

There was a little pause before Ichijouji said, "You don't have to try to fool me, you know." 

Daisuke frowned. Fool him? "What?" 

"If you're going to wait for me to go to sleep so you can come back here and kiss me some more, don't bother. Just come do it." 

There was a moment during which Daisuke could hear his heart thudding in his ears. He wasn't sure whether it was because he really wanted to do that, or because he was offended, or because he had brought that note of resigned weariness to Ichijouji's voice. He swallowed, and said, "That's not what I was going to do." 

"Why not? Am I suddenly not pretty enough for you?" A touch of anger, the same type of suppressed rage that had come out that morning. 

"No! I don't _do_ things like that, Ichijouji!" 

"When did that change?" 

"Never! I've never been like that!" But Ichijouji didn't have to tell Daisuke that he _had_ been like that in the pre-dawn darkness, because he knew it already. _But I won't do that again!_ Furious at both Ichijouji and at his own weakness, Daisuke demanded, "If you don't want me kissing you, why did you _ask_ for it a week ago?" 

"Because I thought I was about to die." Ichijouji's quiet tone moderated what could have been a very insulting statement, and Daisuke's temper was abruptly quenched. He went still. 

"I don't know why I keep doing these things to you," he said, after a few minutes of trying to figure out the answer for himself. 

If Ichijouji knew, he wasn't sharing. There was a span of uncomfortable silence, during which Daisuke struggled with his options. As usual, blunt honesty won. 

"I do think you're pretty," he said softly, laying down on his back and looking up at the ceiling, which was lost in darkness. It felt weird, all of a sudden, to be sleeping with something over his head, and the cave was so cool that the heat-induced sweat on his skin made him shiver. "I've never thought that about another guy before. Hikari thinks Takeru is pretty good-looking, but now that I think about it, I always just thought of him as another guy." 

"Which one was Takeru?" asked Ichijouji. "The blond, right?" 

"Yeah," said Daisuke. 

"Mmmm. He's not bad." 

Closing his eyes, Daisuke wondered about this. "If he'd been nicer to you, would you have asked _him_ to kiss you?" 

"... I don't know." 

For a moment, Daisuke attempted to imagine Takeru kissing the Kaizer, touching him gently, but he gave that up pretty quickly as it made him unaccountably angry. He didn't like that very much, nor did he like the bite of possessive jealousy. Takeru wouldn't have bothered to pull Ichijouji back out of Skip Phase anyway, he decided. Takeru obviously had more faith in the Holy Beasts than Daisuke did, and was willing to take their assertions at face value, willing to swallow their hollow praise and like it. Willing to be duped, as Daisuke had been willing not so long ago, because the deception was more attractive than the truth. 

It occurred to Daisuke to wonder what his teammates thought of his defection, whether they thought him a thorough traitor, or whether they would consider that he might have had a good reason for it. While he hoped for the latter, he was realistic enough to count the former more likely. He knew it would be a fight to the end if he encountered them. 

"Motomiya?" murmured Ichijouji. 

"Yeah?" 

But when the silence stretched on into minutes, he realized that Ichijouji had changed his mind about whatever comment or question he had had. Daisuke did not press him, and eventually fell asleep. 

* * *

Ichijouji seemed stronger when night fell, so Daisuke left him alone in the Datamon's cave while he and Veemon climbed the mountain for where the dark-haired boy had left the packs. It took a good half-hour of scouting around to find where Ichijouji had concealed them beneath a tilted slab of granite, and they didn't seem to have been disturbed during the day. 

Once back at the cave with the stuff, Daisuke and Veemon shared a meal of salted fish just under the overhang of stone. Daisuke gazed thoughtfully into the cave as he and his Digimon ate in silence; a soft glow came from the passage at the rear of the first chamber, illuminating the next room into the mountain, as if Ichijouji had found and lit a candle. The occasional metallic rattle came from back there as the other boy continued his search through the Datamon's home. 

When he and Veemon had finished with their meager rations, Daisuke pulled out his Digivice with the intent to evolve Veemon. He paused, though, as it emerged from his pocket, not the pearly white and blue he still expected it to be, but gray and coal black. It was like a void resting in his hand, the condemnation of some higher force ... it _felt_ different, somehow. Heavier maybe, he wasn't entirely sure. Some quality of the Digivice had changed over the course of the last forty-eight hours aside from its color, and holding it was like holding a Digivice belonging to someone else. When he finally extended it toward Veemon, he more than half-expected it to fail to function. 

However, it did function. 

The soft, flickering glow inside the cave winked out, and presently Ichijouji's slow steps approached where Daisuke was lashing the blankets and satchel to Raidramon's armor. 

"About ready to leave?" asked Ichijouji softly. 

Daisuke did not turn around to face the boy he'd assaulted too many times. "As soon as you eat," he said, putting his ire into a particularly vicious yank on the ropes that made Raidramon shift to keep his balance. "I wonder if the Datamon had any food." 

"You don't want the sort of thing Datamon eat. Look what I found." 

Tying off the rope and tucking the end into one of the blankets, Daisuke glanced that way. He half expected Ichijouji to be holding another piece of charred electronics, but he wasn't. 

"What is that?" asked Daisuke. The flat, rectangular object Ichijouji was holding so carefully in his hands _looked_ like a small laptop computer, but surely that wasn't what it was. 

But Ichijouji said, "It's a computer. And it works." 

Daisuke stared at the black-cased laptop in stunned awe for thirty seconds or so before he found his voice. "It works?" 

"Yes." 

He almost whooped with glee, and would have if he hadn't known that the sound would echo off the bare mountainside. "That's great! That's so cool!" Maybe his horrible mistake with the Datamon wasn't irreparable after all. "You can get us home with this, right?" 

Ichijouji shook his head. "I need the big mainframes in my base for that," he said. 

Daisuke was not discouraged. "But at least you'll be able to make Rings with it?" 

Glancing at the laptop, Ichijouji said, "Maybe. I'm going to try." 

"Are we leaving sometime tonight?" said Raidramon, sounding slightly cross. Daisuke patted him on the neck. 

"Yes," he said. He tied the laptop to the blankets, helped Ichijouji up onto the Digimon, and then mounted himself. His heart was suddenly light again, full of hope. 

They retreated back down to the tree line, and then turned to again follow the marching file of mountains eastward. At one point, Daisuke became aware of a low throbbing noise that was steadily becoming louder as they traveled, but Ichijouji said it was nothing important, just an underground machine, and eventually it faded again and was left behind. 

The light began to fail a little after midnight as the wind picked up and blew clouds over the face of the moon, but Raidramon didn't seem to have any problems finding his way, so they didn't stop. It wasn't long after that when Ichijouji leaned forward a little to rest against Daisuke's back. Daisuke, who had been occupying himself mainly by thinking of all the things he would say to the other Chosen Children once he was back in the real world with Ichijouji, found his thoughts suddenly turning in unwelcome directions. He attempted to wrench his thoughts back, but the motions of Ichijouji's chest as they swayed to Raidramon's strides were a constant distraction, and the topic he was previously pondering was not interesting enough to hold him. 

Finally, he said, "Hey Ichijouji." 

"Mmmm?" 

"Are you gay?" 

Ichijouji didn't answer right away, and Daisuke was about to ask again when he said, "I don't know. I haven't thought about it much." 

"Do you think you might be?" 

"I don't know. How can I tell?" 

Daisuke's skin burned, but he persisted. "Well, what made you pick me? Why not Hikari or something?" 

There was another long pause before Ichijouji said, "I don't know that either." 

"I thought you're supposed to be some kind of super-genius. You have to know." He braced himself as Raidramon lost his footing for a moment and slid a few meters sideways. Ichijouji's arms tightened around his waist. 

"You seemed like the sort of person who was likely to help me. I don't know what made me think that, but I was right, wasn't I?" 

Frowning doubtfully, Daisuke said, "I don't know how much help I was." He could have done any number of far more helpful things, like letting Ichijouji go in the real world, or convincing his teammates that the Kaizer wasn't as pointlessly cruel as they'd all believed. 

"More than anyone else," said Ichijouji softly. 

Having no answer to that, Daisuke decided to try changing the subject back to where he'd begun. "So it was only because you thought I could help you? No other reason?" He was somehow not too surprised to discover that it hurt to find out that he was selected just because he could be useful. 

"I don't know," said Ichijouji yet again. 

"Did you ... like kissing me?" 

An even longer pause this time, and when Daisuke thought Ichijouji was about to answer, Raidramon interrupted. 

"I smell water." 

They detoured then, to a small, cold stream that emerged from a spring within an open refrigerator wedged into the ground. The water flowed over the corner and rapidly down the mountainside in a rocky streambed; the taste was rich with minerals. Daisuke emptied the canteens they'd taken from the village and refilled them while Raidramon and Ichijouji drank. 

Ichijouji did accept something to eat then, leaning against Raidramon while the Digimon rested. Daisuke splashed water over his face and into his hair, gasping at the icy coldness of it. 

He looked over at Ichijouji, so pale and thin with his shoulder against Raidramon's black armor, like some kind of exotic animal. Daisuke wanted to walk over to him, brush his fingers through those soft blue-black spikes. Ichijouji would let him, Daisuke was sure of it, but he turned away from the other boy and dipped more water up to his lips. 

"Let's go," said Ichijouji. 

"You haven't eaten very much." Daisuke frowned down into the sparkling black water. 

"It's enough." There was the sound of leather against leather as Ichijouji presumably put away the rest of the fish and tied the satchel closed. 

"I don't know what you're trying to prove ..." Daisuke began. 

"I'm not an invalid," interrupted Ichijouji curtly. Daisuke looked his way in time to see him struggle upright. "I don't need to be treated like one. No, don't even start," he said, gesturing angrily when Daisuke opened his mouth to point out that he could still barely stand on his own. "I can take care of myself." 

Daisuke just stared at him. The day of rest in the Digimon village had done him a lot of good, but since that point, Ichijouji didn't seem to be recovering anymore. While Daisuke would be the first to admit that he was no expert, it seemed to him that Ichijouji should be a hell of a lot stronger by this point than he actually was. What the boy probably needed was a week or so of no travel and plenty of sleep. 

Ichijouji knelt at the spring to drink again, and then brushed water through his hair in much the same way Daisuke had. His eyes were dark in the half-light when he rose again. 

"What are you waiting for?" 

Just shaking his head, Daisuke said, "Nothing." He slapped Raidramon's neck. "Come on, buddy." 

Raidramon didn't move for a moment, giving Ichijouji a long, speculative look. When he did finally push himself upright, he held his peace. 

They traveled on in silence for another couple of hours. At one point, Daisuke was nearly sure that Ichijouji had fallen asleep against him, but almost an hour later, when Raidramon quietly asked whether Daisuke wanted to stop to pick up some berries, Ichijouji sat up immediately without having to be woken. 

"No," said Daisuke, when he gotten down to pick the clusters of purple berries and Ichijouji made as if to dismount as well. "You stay there." 

"We're not making very good time this way," said Ichijouji sourly, although he did not make any further attempt to get off Raidramon. He stretched out along the Digimon's back with his cheek on the dark armor. 

"We won't make any time at all if we starve to death." Daisuke took off his gloves so that he could strip the bush by feel and began to run his fingers over the slender branches. He encountered his first thorn about three seconds later, yelped, and yanked his hand back. 

Sighing, Ichijouji said, "Just wait until morning." He sounded tired. 

With his stabbed finger in his mouth, Daisuke dropped down to the ground and stared accusingly at the bush, although this was somewhat ineffective due to the fact that he could barely see it, and the bush would hardly care. "I guess I have to." 

After a little pause, Ichijouji slid with some difficulty off Raidramon's back, and Daisuke didn't try to stop him this time. The Digimon then devolved, freeing himself from the ropes that had bound the packs to his armor once he had. 

Ichijouji untied one of the rolls of blanket and wrapped himself up in it; Daisuke frowned when he noticed this, because the night was only the tiniest bit cool, not cold at all, even with the wind. After settling himself with the blanket over his shoulders, Ichijouji pulled the laptop to himself and opened it. 

The blue glow of the screen as it booted up was like the sunrise on the morning of a holiday, although Ichijouji probably wouldn't have looked so washed-out in natural sunlight. Licking his thumb, Ichijouji started typing once the screen had settled down to white text on black. Daisuke watched for a little while, fascinated by the other boy's intent expression and the facility with which he typed, so much faster and lighter than Daisuke's own hunt-and-pecking. 

That became boring pretty quickly, though, the fascination melting into the urge to fidget from enforced inactivity. Daisuke briefly scrutinized the bush to determine if the laptop shed enough light to pick berries by, and decided against. So he rolled onto his belly and said, "Hey, Ichijouji." 

"Hey what?" 

Daisuke chose his words carefully. "Why won't you let me help you?" 

He was expecting anger, denial ... anything but the casual way Ichijouji replied without looking away from the screen. "I thought I was." 

"But you're not though." Raising himself up a little, Daisuke said, "Your back isn't healing, is it?" 

"It will," said Ichijouji serenely. 

Daisuke's gaze flicked down to Ichijouji's gloved fingers, dancing lightly over the laptop's rune-marked keys. "What about your fingers?" 

"It doesn't hurt very much. Why are you asking me these things?" Ichijouji frowned a bit and leaned forward to squint at the screen. 

"I don't know." Daisuke sighed and rolled over onto his back, unable to continue while he could see the injured boy. "I can't help thinking about when I went down to find you under the palace, and you turned around to fight those Gizamon." 

"You never really know what you can do until you're desperate," said Ichijouji mildly, keys clicking. 

Daisuke made a dissatisfied noise. He couldn't find the proper words to say what he wanted, and he wasn't even completely sure he knew what he wanted to say. He simply knew that Ichijouji was beautiful, and had a strength of will that drew Daisuke like a flame. He closed his eyes, and could feel the slip of that lank, shiny hair through his fingers, and taste Ichijouji on his lips. 

"I want you to get better," he said finally, and this was true ... Ichijouji's wounded weakness made traveling difficult, and made it all the more tempting to assault him. Even without Daisuke's lingering twinges of guilt over his role in causing the boy's condition, he would have wanted Ichijouji stronger so it wouldn't be so easy to remember the softness of that pale skin, and how defenseless and desirable he'd been when bound. 

While Ichijouji messed around with the laptop, sometimes typing, sometimes tapping the touchpad, Daisuke fought a brief and ultimately unsuccessful battle with a vivid little fantasy involving Ichijouji, the ropes they were using to tie the packs, and a fallen log they'd passed earlier that night before the light failed. Eventually he gave up, closed his eyes, and lost himself in the mental image of Ichijouji stretched out against the black wood, restrained at wrist and ankle. In his mind, he unfastened his captive's shirt to expose the pale flesh of his throat and chest, while Ichijouji silently watched him with resignation in his cryptic blue eyes. 

Daisuke wanted to touch the other boy, play with the delicate skin of his nipples while Ichijouji was unable to do anything about it except squirm and whisper, "Stop." He wanted the Kaizer at his mercy again, hurt him a little for no other reason than because he could, and because he wanted to demonstrate his power over such a dangerous creature. Maybe twist one sensitive brown nipple to make Ichijouji gasp and struggle. Maybe even kiss him a few times, gently on the lips and chin and ear. 

The proximity of the object of his fantasy made the erection he quickly developed both difficult and delicious - difficult because he wanted to stroke himself and couldn't, and delicious for much the same reason. It would be a while before he could plausibly absent himself from Ichijouji and Veemon long enough to jerk off, and he'd never had this problem before so he wasn't sure why the delay in gratification was both sweet and intolerable. 

It would be fairly easy to make such a fantasy come true. Veemon was loyal, and Ichijouji was injured; it wouldn't necessarily be simple to overpower the dark-haired boy, but Daisuke didn't think it would be too difficult either. This did not help Daisuke's resolve to keep his hands to himself in the future. It _would_ help, considerably, if he knew that trying to force the Kaizer would be futile, or at least complicated, as he suspected it would be if Ichijouji were well. 

Feeling strangely lightweight, Daisuke said, "I think we should stop for awhile. Days, I mean." 

"I think that would be a bad idea." Ichijouji sounded distracted and a little bored. 

"I don't think they're chasing us anymore." Daisuke folded his arms over his chest, still aroused but accepting that now. "They're probably waiting for us to come out of this great big forest. I know that's what I'd do." 

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean it's a good idea to stop moving." 

"No, I think it is. You're still hurt." Ichijouji started to say something disparaging about that, but Daisuke interrupted him angrily. "I don't want to hear about it. You're in danger, and if there's a fight and we have to protect you, that makes you a liability. I don't care if it's my fault or not. Ignoring the fact that you can barely even walk after over a week is not going to do anything except keep you a liability." 

A liability that Daisuke wouldn't mind roughly kissing ... No. 

Ichijouji went silent; even the typing stopped. Daisuke waited for the poisonous scorn to start, but all Ichijouji eventually said was, "No. We shouldn't stop." 

Annoyed, Daisuke said, "Can you do anything about it if I decide to stop anyway?" When there was no reply, he continued, "If they're not searching through the forests, but waiting for us to come out instead, that gives us time. We'd be fools not to take it." 

There was another pause before Ichijouji said, "You're going to get us killed." 

Closing his eyes again, Daisuke said, "We'll find somewhere to go to ground, and when you're strong enough to make me move on again, that's when we'll move on."


	3. Chapter 3

It was a lovely little valley, thickly blanketed in old-growth trees that rose a hundred meters over the children's heads, fragrant with tiny blue flowers that grew among the roots. It felt like a place undisturbed since the foundation of the world, and they moved through the golden-green bars of fitful light in silence - Daisuke walking at Raidramon's shoulder, Ichijouji mounted. They had not spoken to one another, Digimon or Chosen Child or Digimon Kaizer, since just after entering the valley late that morning.

The valley was an irregular track below the peak of one mountain, presumably cut by the creek that ran through it. It had looked to be about a kilometer in length when viewed from above, but Daisuke now thought it was at least twice that, tucked snugly into a little cleft and marked on one end by a fall of white water, on the other by a gentle meadow. On all sides, the blue mountains loomed.

It looked like a good place to huddle for awhile, and as it turned out, they weren't the first to have that idea. A Digimon had met them a short way into the valley, shouting in anger and demanding to know what they were doing there, and then attacking immediately as soon as it saw Ichijouji. With no time for words, Daisuke jumped off Raidramon's back and pulled Ichijouji down with him, and the big armored Digimon tore into the smaller attacker. Daisuke had no idea what sort of Digimon had laid claim to the valley before them, because he didn't recognize it, and Raidramon killed it straight away before it could identify itself.

That had given him pause, seeing the small brown Digimon go down under Raidramon's claws. The Digimon was some sort of flightless bird, its head and beak sheathed in steel, and when Raidramon crushed its head to the ground the back of the steel mask broke its neck. The offhand, single-minded way in which Raidramon dispatched the other Digimon was not something Daisuke was accustomed to seeing from his partner. He couldn't even plausibly blame it on Ichijouji, since Raidramon only did what Daisuke wished, and no one else.

Daisuke chose to walk after that. 

They had met no other Digimon since then, and Raidramon gave no indication that there were others in the area. They eventually reached the creek that ran through the middle of the valley and drank, and then Raidramon moved off alone to stalk the huge trout that could be seen in the deep, sluggish water in the center of the flow. Ichijouji rested for a little while at the edge of the water, and then opened the laptop; Daisuke just leaned against a curl of root at the base of one of the trees and looked up toward the hidden sky.

"I'm tired," said Ichijouji, so quietly that it took a moment before Daisuke registered that he'd spoken.

Glancing that way, Daisuke wondered how Ichijouji could even stand to speak to him. "You should sleep then," he said. "That is, after all, why we're stopping."

"I'd like to remind you that I think this is a terrible idea."

Daisuke closed his eyes. "Noted." Somewhere in the distance, a single bird whistled, the same string of two dozen liquid notes over and over at regular intervals. The sound was soothing, and made him want to not move. "Why aren't you more angry at me?" he asked finally.

"What good would it do to be angry with you?" asked Ichijouji wearily. "You're not listening to me even when I'm reasonable."

Frowning to himself, Daisuke said, "No, not about the stopping thing. I mean ... over what I did to you. Before."

Ichijouji made a small sound in his throat and then began to type. "You've done a lot of things to me. If I got mad at you over all of them, I'd be out here by myself. Besides which, you've done a lot _for_ me too, so it all evens out in the end."

"Hmmm." Daisuke supposed that was correct, and it made him feel a lot better. He cracked open his eyes; Ichijouji sat cross-legged with the computer in his lap, his back to Daisuke. A cloud blew over the sun and the glitter left the air, but Ichijouji remained clear and ephemeral, like a delicately tinted watercolor painting.

"You're just not used to it yet," said Ichijouji gently.

"Used to what?"

Ichijouji didn't seem inclined to answer this, and silently worked with the computer. Eventually, Daisuke said, "You've been in the digital world for awhile now, haven't you?"

"Almost a year."

"I bet you know a lot about it."

"Mmmm." Ichijouji looked up as Raidramon first shot electricity through the water, then began to gather up the stunned trout. "There's dinner."

Lulled by the whistling bird and the cool scent of the water, Daisuke was loathe to get up, but forced himself anyway. His Digimon partner had worked hard since the flight from Skip Phase, and had never complained. Daisuke sort of owed it to him to at least haul in the fish.

He skinned and filleted three of the fish on a flat rock, with a knife they'd taken from the Datamon's cave. The two boys ate the sticky flesh raw, while Veemon ripped apart and devoured two of the fish whole with the unconcern of a born predator. Daisuke hoped to find more to eat within the valley later, but if they had to eat fish indefinitely, at least these weren't carp.

Ichijouji lay down on his belly beside the water when they finished, the open laptop casting an icy glow over his hair in the falling evening shadows. The bruises on his face were almost gone, and the cast of the light served to eliminate them completely, but when the boy took off his gloves Daisuke could see that the tiny bite-mark punctures in his skin were still open, and shiny with clear fluid.

"When are you going to tell me what they did to you?" asked Daisuke softly.

His eyes on his fingers, Ichijouji said, "I wasn't planning to at all."

"Why not?" Daisuke really wanted to know, with the kind of bloodthirsty curiosity that had made him such an excellent Chosen Child.

"What good would it do?"

Probably none, but that didn't affect Daisuke's desire to hear about it. "I know you have bad dreams," he said. Ichijouji did not reply, just looked away through the slanting light. When it became clear that the dark-haired boy was not going to say any more, Daisuke moved closer to sit beside him.

He wanted to tell Ichijouji that he'd be there to listen whenever the other boy was ready to talk about it, but he got distracted before he could. The wild dark hair was snipped short on the back of Ichijouji's neck, where the high collar of his cloak should have rested; the lack left the pale column of his neck exposed for Daisuke's fingers. Ichijouji trembled at the touch, but Daisuke couldn't help it.

"Don't," murmured Ichijouji softly.

"It's okay," said Daisuke, unable to look away from where his dark fingers caressed Ichijouji's skin. "I won't hurt you." He didn't intend to do anything, really, certainly not like the lapse of reason that had taken him in the Datamon's cave. Just ... run his fingers through Ichijouji's hair, gently finger-combing out the tangles. Just trace the edge of Ichijouji's ear, and then bring his fingers to his nose to inhale the scent of the other boy.

He could hear Veemon snoring lightly and felt curiously free. Not that Veemon thought there was anything strange in Daisuke touching Ichijouji in the first place. With a hand on the boy's thin shoulder, Daisuke tried to get him to sit up. "Come on," he said.

"Don't," whispered Ichijouji again, but he didn't resist when Daisuke pulled him upright.

"Don't what?" Daisuke frowned as Ichijouji shuddered. "I told you I'm not going to hurt you." He knew that Ichijouji's shivering was born of fear, but he wasn't sure what to do about that. "I didn't mean to hurt you before, really. I won't do that again. I was just angry." He brushed a drooping spike of dark hair away from the side of Ichijouji's face, but Ichijouji wouldn't look at him ... those shadowed blue eyes remained fixed on some distant point over Daisuke's shoulder.

"Tell me what they did to you," he said. He could account for nothing else that could be causing this reaction.

With no warning, Ichijouji struck Daisuke's hand away, then nailed him on the point of his cheekbone. Stunned for a moment and on the ground, Daisuke vaguely heard Veemon wake with a start, and Ichijouji closing the laptop and gathering it up.

"You want to know what they did to me?" said Ichijouji from a little distance, and venom dripped from the words. "What do you _think_ they did to me?" Daisuke sat up to see Ichijouji clutching the laptop to his chest and extending one hand to show the slow-healing wounds. "They hate me. They wanted to hurt me, and they _did._ Do you want to hear about how they shoved barbs under my fingernails? How they said they'd start cutting off the tips my fingers if I screamed, and took bets on which one of them could make me scream anyway? Would you rather hear about the little claws they used to make all these cuts, or about the hours it took to slice these _words_ into my back? Is that what you want?"

Since that was, more or less, exactly what Daisuke wanted, he went silent. The feral look had returned to Ichijouji's eyes, a raw mix of fear and terrible rage twisting together and leaving no room for sanity. Daisuke just sat there, his cheek throbbing, as Ichijouji trembled and looked for a few seconds as if he might either collapse or fly into madness. He did neither; after a moment he turned his back on Daisuke and sat down, opening the laptop again and putting up a palpable wall between them.

Leaves stirred as Veemon approached. "What was all that about?" he asked quietly.

Daisuke shook his head. "I think I screwed up again." But the echo of Ichijouji's hair and skin burned in his fingers, where he'd touched him.

* * *

Daisuke and Veemon took turns sleeping throughout the night, with Veemon watching first and then waking Daisuke to finish out until morning. Ichijouji bedded down with the computer and one of the blankets quite a ways downstream, and Daisuke moved so that he could watch Ichijouji sleep as well as Veemon.

While Veemon slept deeply as he always did, Ichijouji was restless and erratic. Twice Daisuke was roused from a half-doze by a wordless moan, and only after he had spent several seconds looking for the source did he realize that the anxious sounds came from Ichijouji. Once Daisuke crept off behind one of the trees to relieve himself, and returned to find Ichijouji's eyes open and fixed on him. They said nothing to each other, and eventually the dark eyes closed and Ichijouji seemed to return to sleep.

When dawn came and the daylight birds began to call, Daisuke was gazing thoughtfully at the sleeping form. The dark-haired boy was curled up on his side with one hand on the closed computer case, and he was twitching like a dreaming dog; it was hard to resist going over there to stroke his hair and soothe him. But no - the lingering tenderness over his cheekbone reminded him of what had happened the last time he'd given in to the desire to touch.

The rustle of leaves made him glance over his shoulder as Veemon plunked down beside him. "It's still early," Daisuke said softly.

"I know." After settling himself, Veemon said, "What are we going to do today?"

Daisuke shrugged. "A lot of nothing I suppose. I'm going to let Ichijouji sleep a lot."

"That's probably best. I have to tell you, though, that he's right. The longer we spend in one place, the more likely we are to be found."

Since he was already aware of this, Daisuke said, "I know. But look. I know you don't know a lot about humans, but he _should not_ still be this hurt. He should be much better by now. All this travelling is bad for him."

"Humans don't heal as fast as Digimon." Veemon offered this as if it answered everything.

"Yeah, but they don't heal this slow."

"Hmmm. Why do you care anyway?"

Daisuke glanced at his partner, who was gazing contemplatively at the sleeping Ichijouji. "What do you mean?"

"Well. He's the Digimon Kaizer. He's done awful things to a lot of Digimon, and he hurt you pretty bad in that last fight, too. Don't you remember Dev Null?"

Pulling off his goggles, Daisuke turned them over in his hands and fingered the break in the strap where the Kaizer had whipped them off of him. "I haven't thought about Dev Null for awhile," he admitted.

"That used to be all you'd talk about. What happened? He did something to you." Veemon didn't sound alarmed by this, or upset at all ... he simply stated it as fact.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you before now." The time had just never seemed right. Daisuke leaned back and looked up at the canopy of leaves overhead. "He told me some things, that's all. It changed the way I look at stuff."

"While we were bringing him back to Skip Phase?"

"Yeah."

After a pause, Veemon said, "Like what did he tell you?"

Daisuke hesitated. Then, for the first time, he asked Veemon, "What do you know about the Holy Beasts?"

If Veemon was surprised to be asked this, he didn't show it. "They're powerful Mega Digimon. They've ruled from Skip Phase for ages and ages. They represent four of the elements, and the four cardinal directions. Don't you know all of this already?"

"Yeah ..." Daisuke paused, and said, "You know what they did to him in Skip Phase, right?" His gaze fixed on his goggles, and did not stray to Veemon.

"No, but I've been guessing he was tortured some."

Daisuke nodded a little, and put his goggles back on. "Did you know the Holy Beasts did things like that?"

Hesitation from Veemon, as if he were trying to think of a way to phrase his thoughts. "There have always been stories," he said finally. "A lot of Digimon are always ready to believe the worst of the Holy Beasts, though."

Daisuke knew this already. He had never been able to figure out why legions of Digimon tended to gather in the remote corners of the digital world and then suddenly strike against the Holy Beasts, if the Holy Beasts didn't send the Chosen Children after them first. He had fought in several such minor wars; they seemed to happen regularly, every few months. The Holy Beasts had always seemed so wise and just, that it was hard to reconcile the sheer malevolence of some of the Digimon. Or of the Digimon Kaizer for that matter. There was never any questioning the opposing Digimon. If not killed outright in combat, they were always remanded over to the Holy Beasts for ... rehabilitation, it was said.

That word had taken on a whole new meaning for him.

Eventually Daisuke said, "Do you suppose those Digimon knew? I mean, okay. The Holy Beasts tortured Ichijouji, and I suppose he wasn't the first, but that does that mean that their rule is entirely evil?" Was it possible to torture prisoners and still be just?

Veemon hesitated again, and then said, "Those were mostly Viruses, you know."

"Yeah. And Viruses aren't exactly saints themselves. I mean, some of that stuff we found under Vamdemon's castle was ..."

"I know," said Veemon quickly.

"I guess whenever I thought about it, I figured they were doing it just to be spiteful." Daisuke rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his fists and said, "But maybe they knew. Maybe despite how evil all those Viruses were, maybe we were on the wrong side in all those battles."

"I don't know. The Holy Beasts ..." Again the hemming pause. Daisuke glanced at his partner.

"What about them?"

"It's hard to explain," said Veemon uncertainly. "The Holy Beasts ... they ... There's something wrong with them."

Daisuke snorted. "There's an understatement."

"No. You don't understand. They're not like other Digimon. They don't ... " Veemon made a frustrated sound and scratched at the ground.

"They're not connected," said Ichijouji.

Daisuke jumped a little, and so did Veemon; he hadn't noticed it when the other boy awakened, and he hadn't heard him approach. "The digital world is alive, sort of," continued the disheveled Kaizer. "And all Digimon are linked to it, except for the Holy Beasts and the ones bound to Chosen Children."

"What?" said Daisuke, although Ichijouji had said something about this before, but Veemon was nodding eagerly.

"Yes," said the Digimon. "It's like they're not a part of it."

"That's because they're not." Ichijouji crouched down and set the laptop on the ground. Daisuke was both disappointed and unsurprised by the wary distance the other boy kept between them. "I don't know why. But you're exactly right, they're not like other Digimon."

"I guess they're more like me," said Veemon unhappily.

Ichijouji shook his head. "No. You're bound to Motomiya. They're not bound to anything."

"Maybe they were bound to Chosen Children once, and it's just been so many years that their children died."

"If that were the case, they'd be dead too." Ichijouji glanced sideways a moment, at the dappled water. When he looked back toward Veemon, astonishment registered in the indigo eyes. "You didn't know?" he asked.

"Know what?" said Daisuke, feeling like he was missing something. He eyed his partner, who was sitting in open-mouthed shock, but it was Ichijouji who answered.

"I guess not. It's the link that each Digimon has to the digital world that makes them immortal."

Cold dread settled into Daisuke's belly. "And Veemon doesn't have that anymore," he said.

"Right. He's linked to you instead. If he were to be killed, the digital world wouldn't reformat him because he's not a part of it anymore, and when you die, he'll die with you."

Veemon leaped to his feet and said vehemently, "You don't know that!"

The mystification on Ichijouji's face was that of a young teacher who just can't understand why some kids don't want to learn. "It's all in the code," he says. "The Holy Beasts were the second thing I looked at once I got into it. I wanted to try to hit them through their link to the digital world, but they don't have one. There aren't very many Digimon who don't, it turned out, because the Holy Beasts kill most of them once their children are retired, and the ones who escape that die anyway once their humans die."

"But you don't know that!" insisted Veemon. "You haven't seen it happen!"

"Wait," said Daisuke. "They _kill_ the Digimon?"

"Once the children go home for the last time, yes," said Ichijouji. "The records are all in the deadzone files."

"You're a liar!" said Veemon, aiming an accusing claw at Ichijouji. "You're a nasty disgusting Digimon Kaizer and I don't know why I should believe you!"

Daisuke, though, was quite ready to believe it. The Holy Beasts killing the Chosen Digimon once their usefulness was exhausted? Why not? That was hardly more evil than slicing up Ichijouji had been.

The dark-haired boy shrugged a bit. "Don't believe me then," he said. "Doesn't matter to me."

"You just want me to give up," said Veemon. "You want to do something to my head, the same way you did Daisuke! But I'm not going to fall for it! I'll be reformatted, you'll see!" The Digimon then stalked off into the forest, muttering the whole way.

Ichijouji rose as well once Veemon left, but Daisuke said, for no reason he could name, "Don't go."

Holding the laptop defensively in front of himself, Ichijouji said, "I'm thirsty."

"I'll come with you then."

"No. No, that's okay. You don't have to."

Hopping up with a renewal of energy that belied the fact that he'd barely gotten any sleep at all, Daisuke said, "I'm kind of thirsty too." This was no lie, but he wasn't sure why he was insisting on accompanying Ichijouji. The creek was only twenty meters away; it wasn't as if Ichijouji needed to leave his line of sight. There were so many reasons why staying close to Ichijouji was a bad idea, and really none for why it would be a good idea. Such logic didn't find much of a welcome in Daisuke's mind though.

He walked beside Ichijouji to the water, and sat down next to the place where the boy placed the computer. He drank himself, then watched as Ichijouji slowly and carefully did likewise. The emotion in Ichijouji's eyes was unease, and the looks he kept shooting Daisuke's way were questions.

Feeling a need to reassure his companion, Daisuke said, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Ichijouji did not reply, and eventually he sat back on the mossy verge; drops of liquid clung to his chin, until he wiped them away with the back of his hand.

"I know why you did that," said Daisuke, when the silence became uncomfortable. "Say all those things to me while we were going to Skip Phase I mean. I figured it out awhile ago."

This had sounded better to Daisuke before he actually spoke it aloud, and he flushed a little with how ridiculous he must sound before trying to cover for himself. "I mean, I know you're a genius and all, but you're not the only one who can figure stuff out. I know that what you were wanting was to make me see you as a human and not just an enemy. All of that was just a trick, wasn't it? Tricking me with the truth or something weird like that."

He realized that he was starting to babble when Ichijouji said softly, "I wasn't trying to trick you."

"I think it was a trick."

"It wasn't. I wanted you to know some of the things I know. I thought you'd let me go if you did, help me back to the other world."

"I will!"

"That's all I was trying to do."

"Then why did you want me to kiss you?" asked Daisuke. "Why did you want me to touch you?"

"I told you. I thought I was about to die."

Frowning, Daisuke said, "So anybody would have done?" He'd been down this road with Ichijouji before, sort of, but he pressed on anyway in hope of getting a better answer. "You were using me?"

Ichijouji looked toward the water. "I didn't say that," he said carefully.

Daisuke watched with a dull sort of alarm as his hand extended toward Ichijouji by itself and gently stroked the boy's cheek; Ichijouji's eyes closed for a moment. "It worked, you know," said Daisuke. "I'm looking at you. I think about you a lot. I want to protect you, and not just because there's no way I could open the Gates by myself."

This was met with simply more silence, and a twist of ... something ... gnawed at Daisuke's belly. Maybe Ichijouji _was_ just using him. Whatever emotion was driving Daisuke - and he wasn't sure what to call it - maybe Ichijouji didn't share it. Disappointed, Daisuke dropped his hand to his lap, and Ichijouji seemed to catch his breath.

"Are you afraid of me?" asked Daisuke.

"No." Perhaps this was said too quickly.

"Do you hate me?"

" ... no." More thoughtfully.

Daisuke already knew that Ichijouji wasn't angry with him ... or at least he knew that Ichijouji would deny it if he were. He sat in silence for a little while, quietly studying the elegant, classically Japanese profile that was slowly emerging in the child-Kaizer's face, and wondered when he would understand the way Ichijouji reacted to things. Regretfully, he brushed a stray spike of hair behind the other boy's ear, his fingers lingering on Ichijouji's neck. As always, Ichijouji did not pull away, although he did nothing to encourage the contact either.

"I don't understand you," said Daisuke finally. "It's like you want me to do things to you, and then you're afraid when I do."

"I'm not afraid of you," murmured Ichijouji.

If Ichijouji didn't hate him, maybe the problem went the other direction. "Do you like me at all?"

"Why are you asking me these things?" Haunted blue eyes turned Daisuke's way.

"I just ..." Daisuke had no good answer for that. "I just want to know. I sort of like you, even though you're a horrible ruthless monster, and ... I think we should be friends."

That wasn't exactly what he was intending to say, but something else darkened like blood into Ichijouji's eyes. Another silence fell, although it felt less awkward this time, and Daisuke played gently with the other boy's soft spikes of hair. It occurred to Daisuke that Ichijouji was brilliant, a notorious genius, yet he was a genius who had been separated from other people for a long time. A year was forever.

Maybe that was why he was so strange at times, so contradictory.

As if his thoughts were tracking along with Daisuke's, Ichijouji said softly, "Do they miss me back home?"

Daisuke nodded a little. "Your parents are still looking for you. The whole city was, practically, when you first disappeared, but your parents still are. And they're on the news every once in awhile to ask again if anyone has seen you."

A faint ghost of a smile touched the other boy's pale lips, and although Daisuke doubted that _his_ parents would be able to get on the news to beg for information about him, he knew they would be frantic. It made him feel weird, in a way, to know that he had information that Ichijouji's family would probably kill to have, and he didn't have a chance to pass the word along.

"They do care," said Ichijouji softly, wonderingly.

Daisuke nodded, and his fingertips drifted across Ichijouji's lips; they were still rough in places, although not as dry and cracked as before. "Of course they do."

The lips beneath Daisuke's fingers moved a bit as Ichijouji murmured, "They didn't use to."

"Don't be silly. Of course they care about you." Daisuke's groin tingled; the few square millimeters of contact between them was giving Daisuke a rapid erection, quite suddenly. It was distracting. "They're your parents."

Ichijouji just shook his head a little, but did not elaborate. The other boy's lips parted a bit, and those disturbing eyes slid closed as the tip of Daisuke's middle finger disappeared into Ichijouji's mouth.

Paralyzed by shock and a powerful urge to pin Ichijouji to the ground, Daisuke did not outwardly react while hard teeth and a soft tongue probed the tip of his finger. It was so bizarre, and _so_ erotic, to see the end of his finger abruptly vanish between Ichijouji's lips, and to feel the warmth of the boy's mouth. Daisuke trembled a little, and hesitantly raised his other hand to Ichijouji's face.

Daisuke couldn't believe that this was happening, and apparently neither could Ichijouji, because as soon as Daisuke touched his cheek the stormy eyes opened again and Ichijouji drew back. Daisuke reached for him again, but the dark-haired boy ducked farther back, and Daisuke let his hands drop to his lap.

"Ichijouji," he began, but Ichijouji interrupted him.

"No."

Unsure what had just happened, Daisuke waited to see what else Ichijouji had to say, but apparently that was it. Eventually, he got up, dusted himself off, and walked away into the forest. He had to get away from Ichijouji, before he did something else like what happened back in the Datamon's cave.

He wanted to. He wanted to go back to the river and throw Ichijouji up against a tree and bind him there. He wanted to tear open that tattered blue shirt and run his hands over the boy's soft pale skin. Maybe kiss him too. Groaning, Daisuke put a thick tree bole between himself and the distant water and leaned back against it. A moment later he'd unzipped his pants.

As he sank slowly to his knees and rapidly masturbated, all the things he'd _like_ to do to that infuriating, beautiful Digimon Kaizer flicked through his mind in rapid succession. Everything from kissing him, to grabbing him by the hair and yanking to get some kind of _reaction_ from him. As a vivid memory of his fingers against Ichijouji's bared chest replayed for him, Daisuke leaned forward and held his breath, warmth uncurling in his groin and spilling across the dirt and leaves between his knees.

"Damn him," whispered Daisuke, with his eyes closed.

* * *

Later, Daisuke was wandering somewhat aimlessly through the forest, looking for Ichijouji. After staying hidden for about twenty minutes, Daisuke had decided that it was utterly unfair of Ichijouji to be treating him like this ... if the boy wanted Daisuke to keep his hands to himself, as he certainly seemed to, he had no right to go sucking on Daisuke's fingers. Suddenly very annoyed, Daisuke decided to go tell Ichijouji off, but by the time he reached the water, Ichijouji was gone.

With no idea as to where the other boy might have wandered off to, and still filled with righteous indignation, Daisuke moved zigzag through the woods. It was only when he practically tripped over Veemon that he realized that he'd forgotten his Digimon in all the weirdness with Ichijouji. Veemon was perched on a fallen log, throwing bits of torn-off bark at the bole of the tree in front of him. He was looking dark and potentially murderous, but he didn't look up when Daisuke approached.

"It's not true, you know," said Veemon. "What the Kaizer said. Digimon don't die, they just _don't._ It's humans that can die, that's why we have to protect them. That's what we were told. There's no reason to tell us something like that if we could die, too!"

Daisuke just stood there, not sure what to say. "Maybe he's wrong."

"He's not _wrong,_ he's just _lying."_ Veemon viciously threw another bit of bark at the tree. "That's what Kaizers do. They lie and they lie and they lie." After a little pause, Veemon looked shrewdly up at Daisuke. "He's lied to you, obviously."

Frowning, Daisuke said, "What did he lie about? He said the Holy Beasts would torture him when we brought him back, and he wasn't lying about that." He climbed up onto the log and sat down.

The Digimon shrugged a little and looked away again, clawing up another piece of bark to throw. "I don't know what all he told you. But I know that he must have been lying about at least part of it."

Although he had, himself, believed this not long ago, Daisuke became extremely irritated at Veemon anyway. "How do you know? He's not like what we thought he was, you know."

"Hrmph. What's he like then? I suppose all those Digimon that he enslaved really wanted to have their minds wiped. And I guess all the ones he killed at Dev Null wanted that too."

"He didn't do all that killing at Dev Null," said Daisuke stubbornly. "That was the Holy Beasts."

Veemon snorted. "Says him, I suppose."

Well, that was true. Daisuke didn't really have any proof that the Kaizer _hadn't_ done the things at Dev Null that they'd always assumed. But ... "Well, look. Maybe he did lie, but I don't know that. I do know that the Holy Beasts lied, because _they_ said they were just going to send him home, and instead they cut him up. So there's possible lies on the one hand, and known lies on the other."

"All right. Assuming that he wasn't responsible for that, he's still done a lot of other stuff. I bet he won't deny destroying Serial and Parallel."

Looking down at his hands, Daisuke nodded slowly. "Probably not." There had been survivors of the twin cities, after all, who had seen the architect of their destruction at work. "Still. He's not doing this because he _likes_ it. He's trapped here, Veemon, just like we are now. He's been trying to get home, and I think he's gone a little crazy."

"A little?" Another clawful of bark hit the trunk of the tree. "And anyway, just because he's not doing something _on account of_ liking it, that doesn't mean anything. Liking it could be an added bonus."

"Maybe." Daisuke didn't believe it, though.

They sat in silence for a little while, until Veemon ran out of bark within range of his claws. He then began to gouge grooves into the soft, rotting wood that had been exposed. Daisuke looked at his fingers first, and then at the ground.

"You like him," said Veemon finally.

"He's not like what we thought."

"He's a slaver and a murderer and a torturer and all the other bad things that end with -er."

Shaking his head, Daisuke said, "He's just a kid, like me."

"So are you going to turn into all those things?"

"Of course not." This didn't exude the solid confidence that Daisuke had intended; via Veemon's evolutions, he'd killed a considerable number of Digimon since discovering that he could no longer open the Gate. Needless deaths, pointless deaths. "I'm stronger than he is," said Daisuke, somewhat weakly. "I won't be that way."

Unexpectedly, Veemon stood up then, walking along the top of the fallen tree to sit down again at Daisuke's side. He leaned against his partner, and Daisuke hugged him closely.

"I'll stay with you," said the Digimon. "No matter what you do, I'll always be with you."

No more was spoken on what the Kaizer had said about Veemon's mortality.

* * *

It took a good three hours of searching before Daisuke finally found Ichijouji again. The valley wasn't all that big, and Daisuke didn't think there would be all that many places to hide, but it turned out that Ichijouji had moved closer to the entrance than Daisuke first thought to look. He hadn't thought Ichijouji could get that far on his own.

He came upon the other boy rather unexpectedly, coming over a small dip in the land to see a splotch of sky-blue clothing and ink-blue hair, crouching over something on the ground that was half-concealed by his body and with the laptop open beside him. On the little rise before the dip in which Ichijouji crouched, Daisuke watched him for a few minutes. It was when the other boy turned over an odd-looking object like a large ladle that Daisuke realized with a start that the thing on the ground was the Digimon they'd killed the day before.

Coming down into the low spot, Daisuke saw that Ichijouji had flayed the corpse and strewn the entrails across the leaves like a sorcerer reading the future. The metal sheath that had covered the Digimon's head had been pried off, and the raw flesh and exposed bone that had lain beneath it was nauseating. Ichijouji was engaging in carefully removing one liquid eye when Daisuke approached, looking often toward the blue laptop screen as he did.

"What the hell are you doing?" demanded Daisuke. Ichijouji did not even glance up.

"Reading its code." Ichijouji sounded distracted, the way Daisuke's father always did when Daisuke tried to talk to him while he was working. "This would be easier if it were alive."

_"Alive?!"_ Daisuke was almost speechless. "You'd cut it apart while it was _alive?"_

"It's already starting to degrade." Ichijouji lifted the Digimon by one stiff leg to show Daisuke the underside, where it had rested against the ground. The flesh there was beginning to melt in the disgusting way that eventually consumed all dead Digimon, turning into a semi-liquid slurry that would be reclaimed by the digital world in a couple of days. "I'm going to try to compensate for that, but I really should have started this yesterday. We should have saved a couple of those baby Digimon and brought them with us."

Unfortunately, Daisuke could all too easily picture Ichijouji vivisecting a helpless baby Digimon, immune to its screams in the same way that the Digimon back at the palace had doubtless been immune to Ichijouji's screams. "You're not serious," he said flatly, although he knew that the other boy was.

"Back at my base, I've got everything I need to decompile a Digimon properly. It's going to be tough to do it without the mainframes and equipment, but I'm going to try."

Daisuke took a step backward, repulsed and wanting distance between himself and Ichijouji. He'd known that Ichijouji killed, sometimes brutally, but this ... The scene lacked the stench that Daisuke's sensibilities demanded that it have, but everything else was right there, as if lifted from a nightmare. The Digimon's entrails - long ropes of intestine and other bits of various dark colors that must have been the other organs - had dried somewhat from their exposure to the air, but the obscenely naked head of the bird retained a moist white and shiny pink tint that betrayed how recently the metal sheath had been removed. "Is this how you make Rings?" he asked, his mouth dry.

"Yes. Well, no, but it's the beginning." Ichijouji clicked a few keys on the computer keyboard with one messy hand. "I need the code first before I can start changing it. I remember some of it, but not enough to whip up a Ring from scratch." He frowned a little at the corpse, and said, "I really need a live Digimon."

"You're not going to use Veemon!" said Daisuke, ready to put Ichijouji on the ground if he suggested it.

But the boy only looked up at him, surprised. "I would never hurt your partner, Motomiya."

"You're damned right you won't! You're _sick!"_

"Maybe I am," said Ichijouji mildly, as he resumed his dissection of the dead Digimon. Another strip of feathered skin was torn off the body by brute force, and the lines of runes on the computer screen flickered and rearranged. "I do what I have to do to stay alive. And I do what I have to do to get home. I'd destroy this entire world if it would open the Gate for me."

Daisuke took another step back. He feared that he would do something regrettable to Ichijouji if he stayed much longer, although he wasn't sure if that would consist of beating the crap out of him, or yanking him away from that dead Digimon and kissing him violently. There was something equal parts repellant and attractive about this sort of savage pragmatism, and that was almost as disturbing as the round globe of eye that watched Ichijouji as he worked.

Daisuke never got a chance to find out what he would have done, though, because at that moment his D-terminal chimed.

"What's that?" asked Ichijouji disinterestedly.

"My D-terminal," said Daisuke. In a dull sort of shock, he pulled the device out of his jacket pocket and opened it. "Someone sent me an email."

Ichijouji left off his gruesome task immediately, and turned to face Daisuke. "From the other world?" he asked anxiously.

Daisuke shook his head as he opened the message. "It's from Miyako."

_Daisuke-kun,_

_Where are you? We've been looking all over for you, but you haven't been in school and your parents haven't seen you since we all left to catch the Digimon Kaizer three weeks ago. They're worried sick, you inconsiderate jerk. Iori said you took the Kaizer and ran. Why did you do that? Whatever he told you or did to you that made you change so much, I'm sure we can help you. Just bring him back. The Holy Beasts are worried about you, and so are we. We're afraid he's going to kill you or something. At least let us know you're okay._

_Miyako_

Daisuke stared at the message, his vision turning blurry. "They're worried about me," he whispered.

"I'm worried about us, too," said Ichijouji. He sounded distracted again, and Daisuke saw that he'd resumed dismembering the Digimon.

Sitting down on the ground, Daisuke murmured, "They want to know why I took you away from Skip Phase." Daisuke was, himself, starting to wonder that.

"Maybe they should ask the Holy Beasts."

There was no point in replying to that, so Daisuke didn't bother; Ichijouji didn't sound very interested in the email anymore. He read the message over and over, as if by doing so he could re-forge a connection with its author, the impatient, abrasive, expansive girl who had been such a good friend to him.

Not for the first time, Daisuke wondered what they thought of all of this. Miyako, like Veemon, seemed to believe that he'd been deceived somehow, and aside from the reference to his parents the tone of the email wasn't angry.

While Daisuke had been wishing vaguely that he could explain everything to his friends, make them understand, it hadn't crossed his mind to email them with his D-terminal. He felt very stupid for not thinking of it sooner, and began to type out a reply.

"I know you're not answering that email," said Ichijouji.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll be drawing them a map to come get us."

Daisuke eyed Ichijouji, who was typing one-handed at his computer again. "I'm not going to tell her where we are."

"You won't have to. The digital world stamps emails with information like the time it was sent, who sent it, and where it was sent from. That's a physical location, mind, not the identity of the computer that sent it."

"... You're not serious."

"I am serious. Give me your D-terminal and I'll show you."

Daisuke handed it over before he thought about how revolting Ichijouji's hands were at the moment, and he cringed a little as Ichijouji smeared the noisome fluid over the case and keys. The other boy did something with Miyako's email that made a number of extra lines of text appear at the beginning, and pointed to one of them. "See that? When she sent this, she was south of here, and a ways west. They're probably trying to pick up our trail back at the Digimon village."

"You're making that up!"

"Sorry, I'm not." Ichijouji offered the D-terminal back, but Daisuke was somewhat reluctant to touch it. He took it very carefully between his index finger and thumb in a spot where Ichijouji hadn't touched.

"This is disgusting."

"Hrmph." Ichijouji deftly twisted the Digimon's leg to crack the hip joint. "It'll decay in a couple of days."

Setting the little computer gingerly down on the ground, Daisuke gave it a somewhat mournful look. The fact that he didn't even want to touch it now was just the icing on the cake. "I want to talk to them," he murmured.

"What would you tell them?"

That was a good question, and Daisuke felt it deserved a good answer, so he took his time in formulating one. "That they kept you here, made you do all those things. That they tortured you for wanting to go home. That my Digivice doesn't work on the Gates now either."

"Do you think any of that would matter to them?"

It probably wouldn't. The Chosen Children were nothing if not single-minded, a trait that had always made Daisuke proud, as it meant they could stay focused on the task at hand and not get distracted by other things. Especially not pesky facts.

"I hate you," said Daisuke miserably.

"If that helps, go right ahead."

It was only much later, after the silence stretched into minutes and Daisuke finally decided to just get out of Ichijouji's presence and return to the river, that he remembered that he'd never gotten around to yelling at the other boy for licking his fingers.

* * *

Days passed slowly after that. Ichijouji didn't approach Daisuke, and Daisuke managed to remain mostly apart from him. Daisuke and Veemon divided up the day, so that each of them could get enough sleep without interruptions; because Veemon was a Digimon, and he said that Digimon didn't need as much sleep, Veemon kept watch during the night and slept part of the day while Daisuke and Ichijouji were awake.

Ichijouji did not go near the dead Digimon again, at least not so far as Daisuke saw. Daisuke kept a careful eye on the dark-haired boy, just in case Ichijouji started to get ideas about butchering Veemon in the name of Science, but Ichijouji made no threatening moves and didn't even seem to be all that interested in the Digimon. In fact, Ichijouji spent most of his time near the creek, with the laptop on his knees and charging from a plug in a stone, typing industriously.

Bored beyond words, Daisuke explored the limits of the valley. He found a small grove of fruit trees that bore things that resembled tiny brains, but which tasted like citrus, and another grove of trees that had a variety of power tools pended from their branches. Daisuke didn't try to eat these, but did locate a large, heavy electric screwdriver among the lot, and picked it with the intent of using it as a bludgeoning weapon. The next morning, though, the screwdriver had shriveled to a dry little husk, and he threw it away.

He also determined to make some kind of shelter for them. With Veemon's enthusiastic aid and the help of the ropes, Daisuke got a sort of lean-to built during their third day in the valley, although it wasn't very sturdy and it fell down that night. The next day they built a new one, and this one was a little more solid and it lasted until they were ready to leave again. The thatching was a bit beyond Daisuke's technical abilities, though, and the leafy branches they used to keep out potential rain kept sliding off the structure.

Daisuke's dreams were haunted. He dreamed of Digimon with their bellies slit open and their skins removed, staggering like the living dead through shadowy landscapes and dragging bits of themselves behind. He dreamed of the Kaizer, dressed in the torn clothing in which he'd been travelling, missing his cloak and glasses, coming to an indistinct place where trapped Digimon cowered from him. Daisuke was there, and the Kaizer was eerily silent as he gestured to the Digimon. He wanted Daisuke to choose one, and Daisuke knew that the one he picked would be taken to the Kaizer's research chambers and brutally tortured to death. Daisuke woke in a cold sweat the night after seeing Ichijouji with the dead Digimon, and for two nights thereafter.

Miyako's email was soon joined by one from Hikari.

_Daisuke-kun,_

_Miyako-san said you didn't answer her message. Are you okay? We're not angry with you, we just want to know that you're all right, and we sort of wanted to know why you took the Kaizer away. Daisuke, you know what he's like. Is he making you help him, somehow? Just tell us where you are, and we'll come help you. Please, Daisuke._

_Hikari_

Daisuke ached to answer. However, he showed the email to Ichijouji, and was told that it had been written from Skip Phase. Any answer would doubtless be given to the Holy Beasts, and then there would be hell to pay. No matter what happened, everything hinged on remaining hidden from the Holy Beasts.

About a week into their sojourn, Daisuke came upon Ichijouji at the creek, sitting in the shallows and rinsing himself off. Ichijouji had his back to the shoreline, and although the Holy Beasts' message was still visible it was considerably fainter, and was clearly healing.

"How does it look?" asked Ichijouji, although Daisuke hadn't said anything.

"A lot better."

"Good. All this sitting around is criminally stupid, and I'm glad at least one positive thing is coming of it."

The water reached to Ichijouji's waist, and Daisuke wanted to take off his shoes and wade out into the water to touch the softness of Ichijouji's damp shoulders. However, his resolution to keep some space, both physical and psychological, between himself and Ichijouji had been holding firm for the past few days, and he didn't want to break his streak.

The incident with the dead Digimon had made it both easier and harder. While the greater part of him found Ichijouji abhorrent and loathsome, a different, more secret part of him couldn't help but admire the ruthless drive that would cause a boy his own age to willingly cut apart living creatures in order to advance his own interests. Daisuke had always imagined himself as being very self-reliant, willing to do anything for his Cause, but he wouldn't have been willing to do _that._ Apparently, Ichijouji was.

That all of the things that made up Ichijouji could lurk behind such a ... normal ... exterior as that of the boy bathing in the river ... It was hard to believe. Daisuke sat down on the riverbank.

"So how are things coming?" asked Daisuke after a while.

"With?"

"With the Rings. Duh."

Ichijouji splashed some water up to his face and then wiped it off. "I have the fabrication program almost done. I took some shortcuts, though, and there's a bug in it I'm trying to track down."

"So you're going to be Ringing Digimon soon?" This prospect still bothered Daisuke a little bit, enslaving Digimon to protect them as they fled northwards, but not nearly as much as it should have.

"No. The fabrication program is just a translator. It inserts new code into the digital world to create real objects. I could make you a blank Ring soon, maybe tomorrow, but putting it onto a Digimon wouldn't do anything except piss it off."

"Oh." Daisuke didn't know how to feel about that, and so he looked down at the moss beneath him. A few seconds later, he heard water splashing back down into the river and looked to see that Ichijouji had gotten up, and was wading back toward the shore in the knee-high water.

Ichijouji was still very thin, but the sense of debilitating weakness was considerably diminished. Even lacking the regalia, the naked boy who stepped up onto the moss a little way from Daisuke and began to dress in stained and tattered clothes had a certain air about him. He moved like a predator.

Daisuke wanted to tame him.

"How much longer do you think it's going to take you to finish?" asked Daisuke, more to distract himself than to discover the answer.

"Longer than we should stay here." Ichijouji fastened his pants and put on his shoes, but didn't bother with the shirt that lay in a heap atop the computer. He looked at Daisuke and brushed water out of his eyes. "You're watching me again."

This was undeniable, and to cover for it, Daisuke said the first thing that came to mind. "How can you be that way?" Ichijouji's dark eyebrows furrowed questioningly, and Daisuke attempted to elaborate. "How can you live with yourself? All those things you've done. All that suffering you've caused. You didn't do Dev Null, maybe, but there's lots of other things."

Ichijouji looked at him steadily. "Well, the alternative is to die."

"But doesn't it bother you? Didn't it ever?"

Another long, silent look from Ichijouji before he said. "Maybe at first." Ichijouji unhooked his pants and slid them back down to his knees; he'd more or less given up on wearing underwear, as had Daisuke, and Daisuke tried admirably to keep his eyes off the other boy's groin. "Look," said Ichijouji, turning his thigh out and drawing Daisuke's gaze with a motion of his hand.

It was hard to see against Ichijouji's milky skin, and was masked somewhat by the presence of the healing puncture wounds that had been inflicted all over Ichijouji's body, but once it was pointed out Daisuke wondered how he could have missed it. An elaborate, spiderweb network of scars crisscrossed the front of Ichijouji's thigh, as if the skin had cracked like dry earth. Forgetting his promise to keep his hands off, Daisuke reached out to reverently brush his fingertips over the scars.

"They did that in Skip Phase," said Ichijouji coldly. "The first time they had me. They were trying to bury something in my leg, under the skin. I didn't know what it was then, but I do now. It was circuitry."

Daisuke said nothing. What was there to say? Ichijouji continued, "It was a flat network of wires. They made all these cuts to match the layout of the wires." He swept down a couple of them with his fingertip, motioning the slices. "They were trying to fit the circuitry into the cuts, I guess so that the skin would heal over it. It had ... these barbs and burrs on it. My guess is that they were intended to make nerve connections."

This was worse than anything Daisuke had imagined. It gave him chills, literally chills to listen to Ichijouji describe this. But Ichijouji wasn't finished yet.

"There were a lot of Digimon there," said the Kaizer. "Holding me down. Laughing at me. Arguing about what to do with me once they had that thing in my leg, how to keep me from getting it back out. They were having a problem getting it to stay in, though. They couldn't get the barbs to go in deeply enough, or something. They were at it all day trying. I realized later that they weren't familiar with how long it takes humans to heal, and they'd expected the skin to heal over the circuitry right away. They didn't know how to deal with the fact that it didn't happen."

Ichijouji pulled up his pants again, concealing the scars. "So yeah, killing them bothered me a little at first. But not for long."

Sitting back, Daisuke was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Those were probably Viruses, you know. Vaccines aren't like that."

"I don't care. I want to go home, and I haven't seen any Vaccines volunteering to help me do that."

"Well, you haven't given them much reason to! How many of them have you killed?"

"Obviously not enough of them, because the digital world hasn't spit me back out yet."

It was like trying to reason with a pre-printed book. "If you were a little less bloodthirsty," said Daisuke, "maybe some Digimon _would_ help you."

"Maybe they would. And what good would that do me? Digimon don't have Digivices, and they can't open Gates." Ichijouji leaned down to grab the computer and his shirt. "I don't need moral support. I need results."

"Maybe some Chosen Children would help you," persisted Daisuke, although deep down he knew that this was highly unlikely.

"Any Chosen Child who had broken with the Holy Beasts enough to help me willingly would probably be as stuck here as I am. Look at you, case in point."

Daisuke frowned unhappily. When Ichijouji walked away, he did not follow. He could barely imagine what kind of _circuitry_ the Holy Beasts had wanted to implant in Ichijouji's flesh, and it was just too horrible to contemplate.

If that had been _his_ formative experience with Digimon ... would Daisuke be so different from the Kaizer today? He had no answer, and didn't really want to think of one.


	4. Chapter 4

That same evening Daisuke woke suddenly from a dream full of wordless horror. In his dream he was back home, in school, but although he went through the normal routine of classes and lunch and after-school soccer practice, he was followed by a palpable sense that something was deeply wrong. Something was happening, something awful, and even though he couldn't see it, it terrified him.

He woke trembling, and for a moment that sense of otherworldly horror followed him into wakefulness. He went very still in an instinctive hope that the dreadful, formless thing would overlook him, but the darkness was quiet and night insects chirruped contentedly to each other.

"You okay, Daisuke?"

Veemon was peering down at him from just outside the lean-to when Daisuke looked. Wiping a hand across his face, Daisuke sat up.

"Yeah." Something was missing, and it took him a few seconds of bafflement to figure out that it was the Kaizer. "Where's Ichijouji?"

"He went that way." Veemon aimed a thumb toward the valley entrance. "He was making these little crying noises in his sleep, and then he woke up and said he needed to see the moon."

"Crap." Daisuke stood up, staggering a little because his body hadn't quiet caught up to his brain yet. "Come on. He'd better not be near that Digimon."

"Which Digimon?"

"The one we killed on our way in." With Veemon falling into step behind him, Daisuke started toward the mouth of the valley. "Oh, what am I saying? It's probably decayed by now."

"What would he want with a dead Digimon?"

"He said he was doing something with its code."

But Ichijouji was not in the little dip where the valley's last occupant had perished, and indeed the Digimon's corpse was gone, even the metal sheath from its head. Daisuke spent a moment pondering where the boy could have gotten off to, until Veemon said he smelled Ichijouji farther toward the meadow at the mouth of the valley.

Given Ichijouji's paranoia, Daisuke expected to find him deep in the forest under heavy cover, so it was something of a shock to get almost out into the open meadow before Veemon pointed to a shadowy outline and said that it was the Kaizer. The boy was sitting on the very edge of the forest, leaning against the split trunk of a tree and looking out over the meadow flowers; the arching branches of the zelkova under which he rested blocked out the sky, but it was still too close to the bare meadow for Daisuke's comfort.

"What do you want?" asked Ichijouji quietly, without looking Daisuke's way.

"Just wondering where you were." There would be no good way to explain what had been going through his mind when he found out that Ichijouji had wandered off, since his suspicions weren't too flattering. Particularly since they had turned out to be groundless. It wasn't as if Ichijouji had promised not to go near the dead Digimon, after all, and Daisuke's distaste at the idea that his companion might be molesting the corpse again wasn't much of a reason for coming to check up on him.

"Now you know."

Daisuke wandered closer, with a casual air that probably looked as forced as it felt. "So what's so interesting?" There was nothing in the meadow as far as he could see, that would draw the Kaizer's attention.

"Nothing," said Ichijouji.

"Then what are you doing out here?"

With Veemon on his heels, Daisuke meandered up within a meter of the other boy, ducking under a huge curved branch that was bigger around than he was. Ichijouji still didn't look at him. "Just trying to think," said the dark-haired boy after a brief pause. "Trying to find some silence."

Daisuke frowned; the implication did not go over his head. "Want me to go away?"

He fully expected Ichijouji to say that he did, but much to his surprise, the other boy said quietly, "No. I don't mind if you stay."

Veemon scrambled up into the tree and laid down on a branch, while Daisuke sat on the ground near the trunk of the tree. The roots pushed up the ground in most places, so that Daisuke could almost feel the solid growth below the skin of the earth, but there was a spot in the V of two spreads of root that was firm and level. Daisuke rested with his back to the scaly, lichen-grown bark.

They sat there for what felt like a very long time. The forest overflowed with the gentle sounds of night-flying birds and insects, but silence lay comfortably between Daisuke and Ichijouji. At first, Daisuke wondered why Ichijouji was out here at all. He could hear the faint sounds of the other boy's breathing, and occasionally Ichijouji would move a little bit, but there was no reason that Daisuke could see why anyone would want to spend time here. He couldn't fathom what was going through Ichijouji's mind, but there was really nothing new in that, as he was never really able to understand what the quiet, ruthless genius was thinking.

The stillness and calm, though, lulled Daisuke somewhat, and eventually he began to feel drowsy again. He dropped into a half-wakeful state, in which he was only semi-aware of what was happening around him, and he might have gone all the way to sleep if Ichijouji had not spoken.

"Tell me about the other world," is what the dark-haired Kaizer said.

Daisuke wasn't aware at first that Ichijouji had said anything, but the fact that the request had been made filtered slowly down through his consciousness. Roused a little, Daisuke asked Ichijouji to repeat himself, and then opened his eyes to stare out along the verge of the forest.

"There's really not all that much different from when you left," said Daisuke.

"It doesn't matter. I don't remember it well enough. Just tell me what you remember."

"You mean you've forgotten it?"

Ichijouji hesitated. "Not really ... I just don't remember enough. I think I'm forgetting some things. I want to be reminded."

Daisuke thought about that a little as he fiddled with the hem of his jacket. The request made him uncomfortable, for reasons he could not fully classify. "I don't know what to tell you," he said eventually.

"What school did you attend?"

__

_Did_ attend, not _do_ attend. The subtle difference did not escape Daisuke. "Odaiba Elementary," he said.

"Was that the school we were in when we crossed through the Gate?" Ichijouji's voice was wistful.

"Yeah."

"What's it like?"

Daisuke took a little while to answer, because he couldn't pin down why he felt so weird about this. He slowly described the school to Ichijouji, told him what he thought of his teachers, and mentioned the tree-shaded walkway between the school building and the playground. Daisuke loved that short tunnel of darkness, mostly because it meant that he was outside the school and not inside it, but also because it was beautiful and concealed a secret little nook next to the building. He had spent many a memorable afternoon there during second grade, watching the older boys through a gap in the shrubs as they played impromptu games of soccer around the playground.

"I started playing soccer in the fourth grade," he said. "I'm pretty good at it too. Didn't you start playing in fourth grade too?"

"Yes," said Ichijouji softly. "I played that year."

Daisuke scratched his head a little and kicked himself, because of course Ichijouji had not been able to play this year most recently past. However, just as he was about to change the subject, the other boy said, "I didn't want to play soccer anyway."

"Why not? It's so fun!" While Daisuke was aware that some people just had no interest in sports, he had never understood it. "And you were great, too."

"My mother forced me into it. She thought I was spending too much time indoors. She said that learning to program was a waste of time." The Kaizer made a disparaging little noise and added, "It's kept me alive."

"There was no way for her to know that something like this would happen."

"Maybe. I was interested in it, though. She should have just left me alone to learn what I wanted instead of pushing me to take up something else. Maybe if I'd spent all those hours learning another programming language instead of kicking a ball around in some kind of sophomoric tribal ritual, I'd have been able to get home by now."

Although Daisuke didn't believe this, Ichijouji's words seethed with bitterness, and there was no way he was going to dip into that by arguing. "Well, anyway. I liked it, and I'm going to try out again for the team this year."

Again that little sound of contempt. Daisuke knew what it meant, although Ichijouji didn't actually say anything, and irritation bled through him. "I will! We _will_ get home in time for me to try out for the team. You're too pessimistic."

"I'm realistic. I lost my optimism in Skip Phase."

Daisuke flopped down on the ground on his back, and glared at Ichijouji's profile. "If you're so damned sure you're not ever getting back, why do you keep trying? Why not just roll over and die?"

"I'm not optimistic. That doesn't mean I'm finished trying, and it doesn't mean I'm going to stop fighting. I _will_ get home. I'm just not going to get my hopes up that it will be before winter, or this year, or anything like that."

Scowling, Daisuke said, "Whatever."

There was a slight pause, but before it could turn uncomfortable Ichijouji said, "What's your family like?"

"Hrm. They're kind of annoying, but they're my family. You know."

"No, no. What are they like? Do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah, Jun. She's older than me." Daisuke frowned a little, turning his gaze back up toward the leafy blanket that covered the sky. "She's always making fun of me and stuff. I don't like her much, she's always telling me to do things. And she's boy-crazy. It's kind of creepy when she starts making eyes at my friends."

"I'm sure she cares about you," said Ichijouji quietly.

Daisuke wasn't quite as confident about that. "I don't know. She's mean to me on purpose a lot. She showed baby pictures of me to Taichi and Yamato once, and another time she told mom and dad that I was dating Miyako."

He expected another comment and paused for it, but when Ichijouji said nothing he continued, "I mean, come on. _Miyako?_ I would have been okay with it, sort of, if she'd said I was dating Hikari. But Miyako is ... well, she's Miyako. She's a good teammate, but she's not the kind of person you want to date. If that had gotten around school, I would never have lived it down."

Folding his arms behind his head, warming to this subject, Daisuke said in a softer tone, "I guess my parents are okay. They let Jun and me do whatever we want, and as long as we're home by dinner and don't get arrested or start taking drugs, they don't care what we're up to. That's pretty cool. And I know my parents care about me, even if Jun doesn't. Mom comes to most of my soccer games, and Dad doesn't do very much but I know he cares anyway.

"I remember this one time, we all went on a trip over winter break to my grandmother's place, all the way out on Hokkaido. My mom was kind of mad because it was my grandmother on my dad's side that we were visiting, and she kept asking if Dad could have picked a worse time to go visit than during the middle of winter. And Dad just listened to it, and didn't argue or anything like that, and he didn't get mad. We all knew that Mom had wanted to go visit _her_ family for New Year's, you know, and the weather was pretty bad that year but that wasn't the reason she was complaining and all. She was complaining because she didn't want to go, and the weather was just an excuse. And she just kept getting madder and madder, and when we got to Grandma's place, it turned out that the whole family was there. Mom's side too. There were like fifty people there and we had a huge snowball fight behind Grandma's house, and we all went to the temple together and everything. It was so cool, and the look on Mom's face when she saw that her parents and brothers and sisters were all there too was just ... well, I guess you had to be there. But there were a dozen people sleeping in each room, practically, and you had to be careful you didn't step on people if you had to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night."

Daisuke had more to say on this. He was going to tell Ichijouji how he and his cousin Yasuki had woken up early and had stolen Jun's special bath salts as a kind of lame practical joke, and how good of a cook his grandmother was, even when she was cooking for a horde. He never got a chance, however, because the thin light that filtered through the branches of the zelkova elm was suddenly shadowed. Daisuke had a panic-filled moment to wonder if they'd been found before something touched his lips; there was a second moment of pure shock when he realized that the shadow was Ichijouji, and that he was being kissed.

He had no idea what Ichijouji was thinking or wanting, and so he just laid there at first, his mind blank. It felt good though, gentle and tender, and once the shock wore off Daisuke lifted his chin a little to return the hesitant kiss, his eyes closing. Everything Ichijouji had done to entrap him, from the invitations on the way to Skip Phase, all the way through licking Daisuke's finger just a few days earlier ... everything came flooding back to Daisuke.

_You can touch me if you want to, you know._  
_I don't know why you're holding back. I can't do anything to you. I can't stop you._  
_Then what's stopping you?_  
_Why did you stop?_  
_That's all right. I wanted it._  
_Why do you keep pulling back?_  
_Would you like to kiss me?_  
_Would you kiss me again, if I asked?_

It had all stopped, once they'd left Skip Phase. Ichijouji's alluring little gestures and enticing words had all ceased, although he had permitted Daisuke to caress him as long as Daisuke wasn't violent. Until the morning after they settled in the valley, when Ichijouji had taken Daisuke's finger into his mouth in the golden morning light beside the creek.

Whatever had caused Ichijouji to withdraw, to raise barriers between himself and Daisuke ... perhaps that something was gone. Past. Overcome. Daisuke held himself mostly still at first, fearing that any action on his part would make Ichijouji recoil again, like a frightened bird. So, although Daisuke could feel himself swelling with desire, and although Ichijouji's breath was sweet on his lips and the presence of the other boy filled his senses, he didn't move.

Then Ichijouji took in a shuddering, moist gasp, and Daisuke's eyes flew open because he realized that the boy was sobbing.

"Hey," he whispered, and he raised a hand to Ichijouji's neck. As he'd feared, the dark-haired boy startled and swiftly drew back at the touch; Daisuke sat up immediately and reached to keep in contact.

"Don't," said Ichijouji, trembling.

"No, hey. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." But Ichijouji's voice trembled, and when he attempted to move farther back, Daisuke grabbed his wrist.

"Why are you crying?" asked Daisuke.

"I'm not," said Ichijouji quickly, but he was still breathing erratically. When Daisuke raised a hand to Ichijouji's pale cheek, he was not surprised to find it damp.

"It's okay," said Daisuke, with a sudden flash of insight. "We're going to get home. We're not going to die here."

"How can you be sure?" whispered Ichijouji.

"I just am." It was impossible that they wouldn't get home, eventually. Maybe it would take all summer, but Daisuke just knew they would. That was the way it always worked, after all ... after much trial and conflict, things always worked out in the end.

Ichijouji didn't look convinced, though. Or, perhaps it was just the darkness of the shadow beneath the elm, in which the indirect moonlight frosted one cheek and settled into the rim of one eye. Daisuke had never thought a girl to be as beautiful as he thought Ichijouji was right at that moment.

Daisuke wanted to offer comfort, to soothe this strange and damaged genius child that he had fought for so many months. He tugged on the wrist he'd captured; Ichijouji resisted at first, but soon capitulated, leaning in to rest against Daisuke's shoulder.

"I'm not crying," said Ichijouji again, in defiance of the catch in his voice and the shock in his breath. Daisuke nodded in acceptance of the fiction, and didn't actually say anything. He kept hold of Ichijouji's wrist with one hand, and the other arm slid around the boy's waist. When Daisuke felt an arm slip hesitantly around his hips, it felt as though his blood had turned to liquid light.

"I wish I had your life," said Ichijouji softly.

Well. _That_ was unexpected. "What for?"

Ichijouji was a long time in answering, and Daisuke found himself rubbing his cheek against the soft spike of blue-black hair that was tickling his neck. "I wish I had your life," said Ichijouji again. "It's different from mine."

"How?"

The boy in his arms shifted a little, and said, "We never went to visit my grandparents. I don't have any aunts or uncles on my father's side, and my father would never let my mother's family visit us."

Baffled, Daisuke said slowly, "Why not?"

"I don't know. I never figured that out."

Daisuke attempted, in the brief silence that followed, to imagine a holiday without a home teeming with relatives. One that consisted of just himself, his parents, and Jun. "That would suck," he eventually concluded, with his mind fixated on an image of the four of them sitting formally around the table, exchanging frigid small talk.

"You had more than I did," murmured the Kaizer, as if Daisuke had not spoken. "A year of normality while I was here, learning to hate."

"Look," said Daisuke, although he didn't know what he intended to follow this. Ichijouji interrupted him.

"I don't want to be this way," he whispered, pressing his cheek into Daisuke's shoulder. "I hate them so much. I don't want to hate them. I don't want to do these kinds of things."

"You don't have to," said Daisuke uncertainly.

"It's either that or die. But it's doing things to me." Ichijouji paused to clear his throat before continuing. "I like it when Digimon suffer. I can hear the digital world in their screams. The dark towers I put up ... they injure the digital world, you know. They do other things too, but mainly it's like putting a needle into the flesh of this world. They disrupt the way the code functions in the near vicinity, and that hurts it. I hate it, and I want to hurt it in any way I can."

"Ichijouji," said Daisuke, concerned at the near-hysterical note that was creeping into the other boy's voice. It sounded like insanity.

Ichijouji, however, was not to be interrupted. "If I can get enough dark towers into it, maybe I can hurt the digital world so much that it will forget why it's holding me here." He began to tremble a little in Daisuke's arms. "I don't want to be this way."

Without really knowing why, Daisuke nudged Ichijouji's head with his chin until the dark spikes tilted up to reveal a pale, distressed face. Ichijouji stiffened when Daisuke started to softly kiss his forehead and damp cheeks.

"Motomiya," he said, in a weakly warning tone. Daisuke shusshed him.

"It's okay," he said. He knew Ichijouji wanted this. All the words, all the offers ... Daisuke didn't know why Ichijouji was denying it now, but he knew the other boy wanted to be touched. "It's all right." He spoke soothingly, wanting to comfort. Ichijouji needed comfort, he needed to know that he wasn't alone. Hatred wasn't the only thing left in the world.

Ichijouji trembled in the warm, humid air as Daisuke touched his face and neck, pressing him back against the trunk of the tree to kneel at the base. All the previous violence, like the incident in the Datamon's cave ... all that was just a mistake. Daisuke understood that now. Ichijouji needed to be treated gently, and Daisuke ... Daisuke needed to know that the other boy was not insane from a lack of meaningful human contact.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, as he moved to unfasten Ichijouji's shirt, the way he'd been instructed before. It was just like the stories he'd read, the manga he'd sneaked. Ichijouji was reluctant, but Daisuke knew he wanted this.

"Don't," said Ichijouji weakly, as Daisuke's hands slid over smooth skin. But Daisuke only shook his head as his lips found the junction between Ichijouji's neck and shoulder. Fingers plucked ineffectually at Daisuke's sleeves, but Ichijouji made no serious effort to shove Daisuke away.

_He wants this,_ thought Daisuke, certain now.

He laid Ichijouji down in the cool shadows under the zelkova and curled up beside him so that he could kiss the other boy's pale throat and chest. Ichijouji was still trembling, a delicate shiver that found its echo in the shaking of Daisuke's own muscles. Daisuke had never done anything like this before; he was on the threshold of an entirely new stage of his life, an entirely new stage of his relationship with Ichijouji, and that was both frightening and thrilling. His penis was so hard as to be almost painful.

"Motomiya," said Ichijouji again, and his voice shook. His breathing had become a fearful panting, rapid and shallow.

"Shhh. It's okay." Daisuke's kisses were slow and sometimes clumsy, and Ichijouji's skin was just _so_ soft beneath his lips and fingers. Hesitantly, wondering if Ichijouji was as aroused as he was, Daisuke slipped a hand down the boy's body. His fingers pressed against the fabric overlying Ichijouji's groin, and felt the hard outline of Ichijouji's answering erection.

At the intimate contact, Ichijouji whispered, "Don't. Motomiya, please don't." The body under him squirmed a little, and hands clutched at Daisuke's sleeves. When he lifted his head from Ichijouji's skin, it was to meet the other boy's frightened, white-rimmed eyes.

"It's all right. I mean it, I'm not going to hurt you." Daisuke lightly stroked Ichijouji through the fabric, smiling gently. The dark-haired Kaizer whimpered and closed his eyes, defeated.

The fastening on Ichijouji's pants was very similar to what was used on his shirt, and presently Daisuke decided to open those as well, and pull them down to mid-thigh. He rested beside Ichijouji, kissing him gently, his knees clamped around the slender boy's leg and his hand on his penis. Ichijouji writhed and made strange, strangled little sounds through clenched teeth as Daisuke played with him, and when Daisuke dared to touch his tongue to the skin under his lips, he tasted salt and moisture.

Everything was perfect. A slow, breezy wind began to blow, cutting through Daisuke's shirt and cooling the sweat that was forming on his back. He ground his hips against Ichijouji's thigh, which relieved some of the pressure of arousal and sent shivers of pleasure through him with each twitch and twist of Ichijouji's body. It seemed like no time at all before Ichijouji's fingers were curling into Daisuke's forearm, and hot wetness covered his hand.

Daisuke wiped his hand off on Ichijouji's flayed shirt, and kissed him. "You see?" he whispered, and Ichijouji sobbed a little.

As Ichijouji calmed down, Daisuke smiled at him and smoothed his damp hair. It seemed to be a miracle, the way the pale lips worked, and the tip of a dark tongue came out to touch them for just an instant ... Daisuke was consumed with a desire that found no medium. He had no idea what he wanted ... everything he'd read that involved kissing and sexual contact had been between a guy and a girl ... how was he supposed to relieve this delicious ache with Ichijouji?

In the end, once the other boy's breathing had evened out, Daisuke did the only thing he could think of that would give him release: he sat up, and took one of Ichijouji's trembling hands in his own to guide to his groin.

Ichijouji made a little hiccuping gasp of surprise, and opened his eyes on Daisuke. The white rims were gone; they were black pools in the darkness, catching none of the light from the distant moon.

"I can't," he whispered.

But Daisuke only shook his head and pressed Ichijouji's hand harder against himself, sliding the boy's palm against his erection. If Ichijouji wouldn't do it, then Daisuke would just masturbate himself with his companion's hand.

After a long hesitation, Daisuke made a low, growling sound, and Ichijouji seemed to finally go along with it. Deft fingers unfastened Daisuke's pants, and soon he fell forward to support himself on his hands and knees over Ichijouji's pale body, unable to remain even partially upright while his beautiful captive stroked him to climax.

Daisuke kissed Ichijouji again after he came, caressing the boy's cheek as he did. Ichijouji did not return the kiss, but Daisuke didn't mind.

"We need each other," he said softly. Daisuke needed Ichijouji to re-open the Gates, and Ichijouji needed him to protect him until that happened. Daisuke's more active role gave him something of a controlling interest in their reciprocal needs, though, or at least he felt he was entitled to one. He wondered briefly if Ichijouji would permit Daisuke to lash him to a tree again.

"Yes," said Ichijouji quietly, interrupting this thought. The word was soft and pensive.

After a long time, Daisuke got up and returned to the lean-to shelter. He left Ichijouji, half-undressed and stained with semen, laying on the ground beneath the tree, and did not see the dark-haired boy again for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next day around noon, Ichijouji returned to the shelter, wearing his Kaizer regalia and carrying what looked sort of like a Ring in his hand. "I need a live Digimon," he said, without preamble.

Daisuke, who had just woken after not sleeping well, regarded the dark-haired boy with surprise, wiping a hand over his face to be sure he was seeing correctly. There was even a whip clipped to Ichijouji's belt. "Where'd you get new clothes?" he asked.

"I made them, of course." Ichijouji's eyes were darkened by his new glasses, and unreadable. He extended his hand, offering the Ring-like thing to Daisuke. "I don't know if you noticed, but the old ones were dirty. It only took an hour after I got the fabricator program running." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "If you need anything yourself, let me know."

Daisuke thought about it, but unlike Ichijouji's clothes, his clothing was still in good shape. "Is it testing time?" he asked, taking the thing from Ichijouji's hand. It was black, like a Ring, but had two extra loops in a spiral shape, and the surface was bare of runes.

"No," said Ichijouji. "But I've hit a wall and I need a live Digimon's code to continue."

Queasiness settled in Daisuke's belly when he thought about capturing a Digimon so that Ichijouji could vivisect it, because he knew that was what his companion was going to do with it. He offered the Ring-like object back to Ichijouji. "I thought you couldn't make them yet."

Ichijouji frowned as he took it. "I couldn't before the fabrication program was up and running. I can make them now, they just don't work correctly yet. Look, we stopped because I was weak. I'm not weak anymore. I feel a lot better. Now we need to get moving again and I need a live Digimon anyway." The dark eyes behind the dark glasses wouldn't meet Daisuke's.

"Does it have to be a particular type?" Daisuke was thinking that maybe he could restrict this to Virus-type Digimon, who would probably vivisect _them_ if they could be captured themselves.

"No. Any Digimon will do." Ichijouji glanced around, and gestured to the little campsite. "Come on, we need to go. We need to clean this up as well, make it look as natural as possible, in case they track us here."

Daisuke agreed, but before calling Veemon to help he rose to his feet and gave in to the impulse to take Ichijouji into his arms. The Kaizer twisted slightly so as not to rest naturally against Daisuke's body, but he didn't try to pull away. Nor did he resist when Daisuke kissed his hair, but he didn't reciprocate either.

"What's the matter?" asked Daisuke, confused.

"We should get moving," said Ichijouji quietly.

"I won't hurt you," said Daisuke, and the Kaizer stiffened in his arms.

There was a long silence, then, while Daisuke tried to figure out this reaction, before Ichijouji said, "You're right. We need each other." His voice was flat, emotionless. "But right now we need to get underway. I need a live Digimon as soon as we can get one, and we've waited here long enough."

"I said we'd leave when you were strong enough to make me," said Daisuke.

An instant later he was flat on his back on the leaf-strewn ground, unsure how he'd gotten there, with one ankle and a spot on his left wrist stinging. "If you want to fight me without your Digimon to help you," said Ichijouji coldly, "let me assure you that I would win."

Daisuke took a moment to catch his breath while fury raced through his blood, and then he hopped up to his feet. He had no idea why Ichijouji was acting like this, after what they'd shared the night before, and it was almost personally offensive. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he demanded. "Why are you acting like this?"

But trying to understand the Digimon Kaizer's mind was like trying to understand the mind of God. Ichijouji just stood there under the ancient trees, his expression utterly impassive, and he offered no explanation for his behavior. He simply waited until Daisuke lost patience.

"Whatever," said Daisuke. "Fine." Daisuke dashed the clinging leaves from his clothing and then he went to find Veemon.

Together, the three of them spent the next several hours dismantling the shelter and spreading the branches that had composed it far and wide. Veemon brought in some leaf litter from elsewhere to spread around, hopefully disguising the campsite completely. Ichijouji helped by moving branches, and he _did_ seem a lot better now. The shaking weakness that had infected him since the flight from Skip Phase was replaced with greater strength than Daisuke would have expected from a frame as delicate as the Kaizer's.

"I still smell the both of you," said Veemon doubtfully when they were finished.

"What else do you think we should do?" Daisuke asked him.

"I don't know." The blue Digimon stepped on the leaves scattered across the site; they were still damp from being moved in from elsewhere. "Nothing, I guess."

Daisuke pulled out his Digivice to evolve his partner, and startled anew when it came out of his pocket black. It never failed to give his nerves a jolt to see it; the color was the same as the color of the Ring. Nevertheless, he flipped it on and raised it to Veemon, and it connected wirelessly to his D-terminal and served up a Digimental, and Veemon Armor Digivolved in the usual fashion without a hitch.

As Daisuke was roping the equipment to Raidramon's back, Ichijouji hung back somewhat and turned the strange Ring over in his hands. "I just need one Digimon," he said again. "Just one."

Daisuke was suddenly unaccountably angry again. Ichijouji was asking a lot of him, wanting him to capture some helpless Digimon for use in Kaizerish experiments, and he wouldn't even let Daisuke kiss him in exchange. This business was putting Daisuke onto a whole new level of depravity, making him not just complicit in evil, but acting actively in support of it, and he thought he deserved something in return. Some kind of reciprocal consideration. It was one thing to kill helpless baby Digimon cleanly – something Daisuke still hadn't forgiven himself for doing – and quite another to capture a Digimon alive for dismemberment.

Only a few weeks ago he'd been a hero, the pride of the digital world, favorite of the Holy Beasts. Now he was a fugitive and an outlaw, slaughterer of babies and holder of a black Digivice, assistant to the Digimon Kaizer. He felt unclean, and angry.

"What have you done to me?" he asked Ichijouji, and none of the anger came out in his voice for some reason.

"No worse than you've done to me," said Ichijouji, and his words were smooth and even. Daisuke had nothing to say to that, so he made no reply.

Once the packs were ready and both were mounted, Daisuke directed Raidramon to follow the water. He had an idea to search the banks of the stream for trails showing where Digimon came down to the water to drink, the way the babies they'd slaughtered had tapped out a trace to the creek near their village. If that didn't work, if nothing else, their tracks out of the valley would at least be concealed.

He became aware within minutes that Ichijouji had his hands on Raidramon's armor to balance himself, rather than on Daisuke's hips, as before. This only stoked his anger, even though he had to concede that it probably was no longer necessary. So he wasn't good enough to kiss, and he wasn't even good enough to touch at all. What on earth had happened, between the night before and right that second? The evening had been perfect, and what they'd shared had been perfect. Ichijouji's sudden change of heart here was irritating.

The sky was already darkening by the time they left the little valley, Raidramon descending the waterfall by leaping from stone ledge to stone ledge alongside it amidst feathery ferns and soft moss. Daisuke put Ichijouji out of his mind entirely, turning instead toward their next task, even though the idea made him queasy. He needed to plan this out as much as possible. They'd need to surprise whatever Digimon they found, subdue it quickly, and then if it was a Virus they'd probably need a free rope to tie it up. If it was some other type ... well, Daisuke thought he'd just have to have Raidramon kill it. There was no other option.

At the bottom of the waterfall Raidramon waded out into the stream and followed it, his great claws splashing water up as high as Daisuke's battered sneakers. The flowing water was mostly ankle-deep on the big Digimon, but Raidramon moved around more than one deep pool, and eventually came to some shallow rapids that he had to leap. The night around them was quiet but for the songs of insects and night birds, with no hint that another living soul existed within a thousand kilometers.

After they'd traveled in the deepening night for an hour or more, Daisuke broke the silence. "I want to restrict ourselves to catching a Virus-type," he said, softly, so that the sound wouldn't carry.

No one replied at first, but after a few moments Ichijouji volunteered, "It should be a young evolution. Something small enough to be physically controlled once it's been defeated. I don't have my equipment here to restrain anything big."

"Not a baby," said Daisuke firmly.

"So a child Virus," said Raidramon. "That's not specific at all. Anything else on the wish list?"

Ichijouji snorted. "It doesn't have to be a particular type from my perspective. And we ought to kill anything we find anyway, so I'm not sure where this Virus requirement is coming from."

Daisuke had known that Ichijouji cared nothing for what type of Digimon they captured, and maybe as a killer and an enabler of evil he shouldn't care either. But he did. "It's coming from me," he said.

"But we _are_ going to kill anything we find," said Ichijouji again. "Right?"

That required a little more thought, but only a little. "It can't be helped," said Daisuke, feeling something die inside him.

Raidramon said, "I don't get why we don't just take the first thing we find, then. It's just a waste of Digimon life to kill and kill and kill until we find a Virus."

"Maybe we'll find a Virus first," said Daisuke, uncertain. This was hardly the first time Raidramon had agreed with Ichijouji on a plan, but it was no less surprising now than it had been the first time.

"Maybe."

"It's up to you," said Ichijouji. "Raidramon is your Digimon."

Yes, Raidramon was Daisuke's Digimon. And Raidramon had carried the brunt of the load on this journey, both literally and figuratively. He was just as much a fugitive as Daisuke and the Kaizer, equally as exiled from his home, and he performed the bloody work of Daisuke's decisions.

Patting his friend on the neck, Daisuke said, "How you doing, buddy?"

"I'm fine," said Raidramon. "I'm well-rested. I can handle anything we find."

"That's not what I meant." Daisuke ran his hand over the back of his partner's neck, where it was exposed by the black armor. "How are you doing with, y'know ... everything that's happened."

"I'm not thrilled," said Raidramon. He paused on a stone, and then jumped to the next shallow bit of the river; the two riders swayed, but Ichijouji kept his balance without touching Daisuke. "I can think of a lot of things I'd rather be doing than carrying the Digimon Kaizer on my back."

"I know." Daisuke was mostly just angry at Ichijouji, but he knew that on some level the fact that Ichijouji looked like the Kaizer again was disturbing. Of course that would affect Raidramon more. 

"But there's no place I'd rather be than with you," continued Raidramon. "So if you want to bounce out of Skip Phase and go on the run, I guess I'm going on the run, too."

Daisuke wanted to hug his partner, and would have if he'd been Veemon right then. "There are a _ton_ of places _I'd_ rather be," he said. "Like, home, for one." A thought occurred to him. "Hey, Raidramon. When we get out of this mess, and get the Gate open, are you going to come home with me?"

"Of course," said the Digimon.

"I mean, permanently."

There was no hesitation in the reply. "Of course," said Raidramon again. "Even if I have to be Chibimon for the rest of eternity."

Ichijouji made a soft noise of disdain, but said nothing. Daisuke ignored him.

"At least Chibimon is cute," said Daisuke.

"Cuteness can't keep you safe," said Raidramon, "so it's a good thing there are no evil Digimon in your world. Speaking of which, what did we decide about what to kill and what to capture for the Kaizer?"

Daisuke's mood crumbled. "I mean ... you know what he's going to do with it."

"Yes. I'm just not sure why there needs to be more than one casualty."

"There doesn't," said Ichijouji. "I just need a few things out of the base code. Any Digimon will do."

"Right," said Raidramon. "So why does more than one Digimon need to die?"

Daisuke hadn't expected this kind of ruthless logic from his best friend; from the Kaizer it made sense, but from Raidramon? "I get what you're saying," he said, but Raidramon interrupted the rest.

"I know you don't want to inflict that on anything but a Virus. I get that. But even a Virus doesn't deserve it, exactly, so I don't understand why I'm killing Vaccines until I find a Virus. We're not doing this to punish Viruses. We're doing it because you want to enslave other Digimon."

"I don't _want_ to enslave Digimon," said Daisuke. "It's just ..." He searched for words. "It's just something that has to be done if we're going to get out of this." That was why Ichijouji had done it, all of it, and Daisuke thought sourly that he was pretty dedicated to that path himself at this point.

Raidramon offered no reply, and from then on they traveled again in silence.

* * *

In the darkest hours of the morning, Raidramon waded out of the stream and climbed the bank to move through the forest. Before leaving the water entirely behind, Daisuke and Ichijouji dismounted to drink and refill the canteens; Daisuke got back up onto Raidramon first, and Ichijouji accepted a hand up to mount as well, but once they were underway again the Kaizer settled back with his hands on the black armor for balance.

It made Daisuke suddenly very angry again, and he said quietly, "Don't even want to touch me at all now, eh?"

Ichijouji didn't pretend to not understand. "I'm stronger now," he said. "I don't need to ... to cling to you, anymore."

"Is that how it is," muttered Daisuke, as Raidramon ascended the slope away from the creek. There was a sort of ridgeline not far away, and Daisuke wanted to travel along it for a while, to look for trails that would betray that some Digimon or other lived nearby.

"That's how it is," agreed Ichijouji.

That was nonsense, of course, but Daisuke didn't work out how to advance the confrontation before he felt hesitant hands lightly touch his hips. That sank him into a momentary confusion, and in the silence Ichijouji spoke again.

"We need one another," said the dark-haired boy quietly, as if that settled it. Then a light body touched Daisuke's back, as Ichijouji leaned against him just a bit. Perhaps that did settle it, then, because Daisuke had no further complaints to make.

Raidramon followed the ridgeline after that, winding through the trees as deftly as a cat in the darkness, although the thick growth made the going slower here. The two humans rode in silence, and gradually Ichijouji leaned more against Daisuke's back, more like the way he had on the flight from Skip Phase. It was as though the other boy were tired and wanting to sleep perhaps, and Daisuke suddenly wondered how much sleep Ichijouji had gotten after they'd ... done what they'd done beneath the elm tree. He'd slept poorly himself, his dreams full of Ichijouji's scent and the softness of his hair and skin. He wondered if Ichijouji had had a similar experience.

They traveled until mid-morning, when they stumbled upon an outcropping of stone that would provide some cover, and Daisuke decided it would be a good place to stop for the day. He saw Veemon settled in, and told Ichijouji to get some sleep as well while he kept watch. Ichijouji moved stiffly to the rear of the shallow hollow under the rock, and curled up on his side on the leafy ground with his whip in his hand.

"You don't need to worry," Daisuke told him. He stripped off one glove and reached back into the hollow to run his fingers through Ichijouji's dark spikes; Ichijouji's eyes closed for a moment, but opened again when Daisuke stopped petting him.

"I'm not worried," said Ichijouji. When Daisuke glanced conspicuously down at the whip, Ichijouji added, "I thought you wanted me to go to sleep."

"Do _you_ want to go to sleep?" asked Daisuke.

Ichijouji paused for the slightest of moments, and then his eyes slid away to the side and he said, "I don't care."

There wasn't really anything Daisuke especially wanted to do just at that moment, but the obvious lie made him wonder what it was that Ichijouji wanted him to do. The whip invited nothing, but the other boy's demeanor was otherwise passive. Why lie, if he wanted Daisuke to act in some way?

Some of Daisuke's earlier anger returned, and he ran his fingers down to Ichijouji's chin and forced the Kaizer to raise his head a bit. Ichijouji responded by rising to a sitting position, and putting his back to the rock where he was just out of Daisuke's easy touching range.

"If you're going to do something," said Ichijouji, "just do it now while I'm awake."

"I don't get you at all," said Daisuke in his annoyance. "But don't pretend you don't want me touching you. You've wanted it since that first day in the woods."

Ichijouji pressed his lips together, and then his tongue darted out to moisten them. It gave Daisuke half an erection to see it. "Just do it, if you're going to," said Ichijouji.

Furious now, Daisuke turned away and said, "Go to sleep."

Behind him, Ichijouji was silent and still for several minutes, after which his clothes rustled as he lay down again. The day was warm, so Ichijouji used no blanket, and Daisuke could see the indigo-blue and bright gold of the Kaizer's cloak out of the corner of his eye when he turned his head just so. He thought about that graceful cloak framing his companion's slender body, bound to a tree, and his erection roused to full hardness as he imagined it. Behind him, Ichijouji's breathing evened out, as the boy presumably drifted to sleep.

The morning stretched into afternoon of total boredom, and Daisuke occupied his mind with a delicious, infuriating mixture of fantasy and memory, centered on the baffling Kaizer. Occasionally Ichijouji would make a distressed sound in his sleep, and Daisuke wondered if the other boy was dreaming about the Holy Beasts. He imagined holding Ichijouji in his arms, soothing away any bad dreams, running his fingers over exposed skin and kissing that beautiful mouth. After a while he started to furtively stroke himself through his pants; it would be very simple to use the Kaizer's whip to bind him again, force him to take Daisuke's soothing kisses. He didn't bring himself to orgasm – that would have been very messy – but it was a sweet kind of torment to tease himself.

Eventually Daisuke glanced back into the hollow, and found to some amusement that Veemon and Ichijouji had each shifted in their sleep and Ichijouji was now cuddling the Digimon as though Veemon were a stuffed animal. Daisuke wondered how Veemon would like that when he woke up.

The Digimon Kaizer. It wasn't so long ago that this genius child had been Daisuke's sworn enemy; Daisuke certainly wouldn't have let him touch Veemon less than a month past. For the first time, Daisuke wondered how Ichijouji had managed it, when he'd discovered that the Gates were closed to him. Daisuke didn't recall exactly when he'd discovered that the Digimon Kaizer was a human being, but he recalled perfectly the shock of it, as he'd of course assumed at first that such an epitaph belonged to an ambitious Digimon. How had Ichijouji succeeded in surviving alone, unaided, with all the digital world arrayed against him?

Daisuke couldn't resist passing his fingers gently through Ichijouji's hair, and the other boy startled awake in an instant. He looked very wild for a moment – frightened and furious, scrambling back away from Veemon and raising the whip before him as though to strike in defense – but calmed a few seconds after.

"Sorry," said Daisuke, and he genuinely was. The Kaizer's momentary terror killed the erection he'd been nursing all day, which was actually a welcome development. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Ichijouji didn't reply at first, and seemed to need the time to get a grip on himself. Then he pulled out his black Digivice and checked the time on it. "It's okay," he said eventually. "I needed to get up anyway."

"I didn't," said Veemon, stretching where he'd been shoved aside. "Is there anything to eat?"

"Not yet," said Daisuke. "There's always fish in the creek if we can't find anything else, though."

Veemon made a face. "I'm getting really tired of fish."

Behind the Digimon, Ichijouji looked pensively at his Digivice, then turned it so Daisuke could see the screen. "Your friends are looking for us again," he said.

Daisuke frowned and snatched the Digivice out of Ichijouji's hand; there were, indeed, two blips on the screen showing where two of the other Chosen were within scanning range. The range was a couple dozen kilometers, so the searchers weren't directly on their tails, but it was too close for comfort. "Have you always been able to track us?" he asked. "We were never able to track you this way."

"And your friends can't track me now," said Ichijouji. "It's one of the few compensations for having a _black_ Digivice. They're easy to mod." He stood up and retrieved his Digivice, slipping it back into his pocket. There was something closed-off in the way he moved now, something about the way he turned to keep his shoulder to Daisuke. "In fact, I should mod yours right now. You've been keeping it turned off, but you're going to have to turn it on to Digivolve Veemon, and then they'll find us."

Daisuke took out his own Digivice and looked at it. That seemed so ... ill advised. Ichijouji was right about evolving Veemon, but fixing that couldn't be so easy. Nor did the idea of it sit well with Daisuke. His Digivice had been a gift from the digital world, the tangible proof that he was a Chosen Child. "Won't that break it?" he asked, unsure.

"No," said Ichijouji. "Now hand it over and let me do it. Then I need a Digimon, Motomiya, and I need it yesterday. I need to finish my program so we can have a fighting chance. If we're caught and I don't have a working Spiral in my hand, we're all screwed."

"Yeah," said Daisuke, his uncertainty coloring his tone. Reluctantly, he handed over his Digivice. "I know. I know. It's just ..."

"It's just that you care about Digimon more than you care about humans," said Ichijouji icily. "It's just _one_ Digimon, and death isn't permanent for them anyway."

"It's not that you're going to kill it! It's _how_ you're going to kill it!"

"It's how they're going to kill _us_ if we're captured. Are you forgetting what they've done to me already? Do you want that to happen to you, and to Veemon?"

Daisuke quailed a little; he hadn't thought about what might happen to Veemon if the Holy Beasts closed a net around them all. "No," he said, still hesitant, but less so than before.

Ichijouji sat on the ground and booted up the computer in his lap, Daisuke's Digivice balanced on one knee. "This will only take a few minutes," he said. "Then we need to leave."

It did, in fact, take less than ten minutes for Ichijouji to do whatever it was he did and for the Digivice to completely reboot, and when Daisuke took it back into his hand it felt ... lighter, in some way. More like it used to. "Thanks," he said, switching it on and trusting that Ichijouji did the work on it correctly. It functioned okay, and showed two blips far away, where two of his team searched for them. It gave Daisuke a queer feeling in his belly to see them.

"Let's go," said Ichijouji, standing with his back straight and imperious. "The first Digimon we find, I use. Okay? Agreed?"

"It's too bad you can't fix this so that we can open Gates," said Daisuke, turning the Digivice over in his hand.

"Believe me, I've tried. I've tried and I've tried. Now, again, it's agreed that I use the first Digimon we find?"

Daisuke put a hand on his D-terminal and said, "Digimental up!"

_"Veemon ... armor Digivolve to ... Raidramon!"_

"Motomiya," prompted the Kaizer.

"I ... Let me think about it, okay?"

So Ichijouji was silent while he and Daisuke loaded the gear onto Raidramon and Daisuke tied it down. But he didn't stay silent long after that.

"The first Digimon we find," said Ichijouji after they were both mounted. There was no weirdness this time about not wanting to touch Daisuke; he put his hands on Daisuke's hips immediately to balance himself as Raidramon broke into an irregular lope through the forest. "There's no time left to be picky."

"They may not actually be following us, you know," said Daisuke, still indecisive. "They may just be randomly sweeping the forest."

"We're just as caught if we're caught on a random sweep."

"I can handle anything we're likely to find here," said Raidramon. "It doesn't have to be a child evolution, even. I can control whatever we find and defeat."

"We'll see," said Daisuke. He didn't want to decide this now. He'd do it when he saw whatever this hypothetical Digimon might be.

Ichijouji made a disgusted sound, but offered no further questioning of Daisuke's non-decision. Before long the swaying of Raidramon's steps lulled Daisuke into an uneasy doze against the armor Digimon's shoulder spikes, and he napped uncomfortably with Ichijouji against his back.

* * *

Ichijouji said that they needed to cross the mountains soon, so Raidramon made for a valley between the peaks that they hoped would yield a pass. For the next two days they traveled at night, catching what sleep they could while the sun was up under whatever cover they could find: a fallen log the first night, the hollow under a broken subway car the second. When they stopped on the third day, they heard the cry of an Airdramon overhead for the first time in two weeks.

"I'd love to get my hands on one of those," said Ichijouji the second time the cry reached the fugitives' ears.

"Not likely," said Daisuke. They'd gotten lucky that morning and were camped next to a large bush that grew bite-sized meat pies; he was busy picking them and passing them to a ravenous Veemon to eat. "I hope we find a stream in the valley. We're almost out of water."

"I hope we find a Digimon in the valley."

Somehow it was becoming easier, as time passed, for Daisuke to seriously contemplate doing as Ichijouji wished. Every time he checked his black Digivice and saw blips on the screen, his resolve strengthened. This was survival, really. Even though it seemed to Daisuke that the Holy Beasts didn't want to kill them, exactly, he nevertheless doubted that they'd make it out of Skip Phase alive if they were captured. He had no idea what his measure of strength would be if faced with words sliced into his back, but he hoped he would be strong enough to refuse compliance and force the Holy Beasts to put him all the way down.

Ichijouji had suffered the mercy of the Holy Beasts twice, and had come out of it damaged and possibly somewhat insane. Right now, the Kaizer was tending to the prosaic side of survival by eating some of the tiny meat pies off the bush, wrapped in his armored cloak and shielded behind oversized glasses. He'd do all the work, really, once Daisuke captured a Digimon. It wasn't as though Daisuke would have to disembowel the thing himself.

Daisuke knew perfectly well that that was a rationalization, and not even a very good one, but it nevertheless helped him defend his decision to himself.

Veemon abruptly put a hand on Daisuke's wrist to still him, whispering, "Quiet."

At the word, Ichijouji went still as well; the other boy quickly checked his Digivice, and shook his head, showing the blank screen to Daisuke. Not Chosen, then. Veemon was staring off into the green gloom of the forest, and after a moment he began to agitatedly tug on Daisuke's coat sleeve.

Daisuke reached for his D-terminal, but then hesitated. Ichijouji's expression as he took his whip in hand was unreadable, but Daisuke knew what the other boy expected of him; despite his rationalization exercise, he wasn't totally sure he could do it.

Maybe ... maybe this Digimon was a Virus. Daisuke hoped and prayed it was a Virus.

But it wasn't a Virus. What came upon them, chattering innocently about lunch, was two Gotsumon.

They froze dead when they spotted the three interlopers, and one of them whispered fearfully, "The Digimon Kaizer."

Ichijouji raised his whip, and the two Gotsumon took off running.

"Get them!" said Ichijouji, dashing after them, and still Daisuke hesitated until Veemon shouted his name. Yes. Yes, at least the two Digimon needed to die.

Daisuke held out his Digivice, having only an instant to decide which of Veemon's two armor evolutions he should use and electing Raidramon because that form was quicker. Veemon leapt into the air and Digivolved mid-leap, landing on his feet as Raidramon and bounding after the fleeing Gotsumon.

_"Blue Thunder,"_ called Raidramon moments later, from what sounded like a long way ahead, and lightning lit up the shadowy forest. Daisuke raced to catch up, jumping a little culvert and almost losing his footing. They were just going to _kill_ the Digimon. Just kill them.

The scuffle was over by the time Daisuke managed to catch up with his Digimon, and it was then that he realized his mistake. Raidramon had stunned the two smaller Digimon with his lightning attack, and was standing awkwardly with his weight back on his hind legs so that he could pin down one Gotsumon under each front claw. They were moving weakly, unable to drag themselves free, and the Kaizer was pacing excitedly in front of them lavishing praise on Raidramon.

"You are one of the greatest Digimon I've ever seen," Ichijouji was saying. "How are you able to scale your power? Anyone else might have killed them on accident, but you got them _both!"_ For the very first time, Daisuke could see that Ichijouji was smiling, and the smile was terrifying.

"It's a gift," said Raidramon, rolling his red eyes. Then he raised his head to Daisuke. "I caught them," he said, unnecessarily.

"I see that," said Daisuke, his heart sinking. Far from killing the two Gotsumon mercifully, Raidramon's electrical attack had simply captured them both. He should have gone for Flamedramon, he saw now, as Flamedramon lacked Raidramon's finesse.

"Hold them, will you?" said Ichijouji to Raidramon. "I'm going to go get the ropes. Then we should get out of here in case there are more." He actually rubbed his hands together with glee, like a character in a movie, or like a crazy person. "I'll get the data I need from one, and use the other to test the Spiral when it's finished."

"That's ..." said Daisuke. "I thought ..."

But Ichijouji was already leaving, heading back toward the bush where they'd intended to camp for the day. Daisuke had no idea how this was going to work, but it made him feel sick to look at the dazed, gentle Digimon and know what the Kaizer planned for them.

Raidramon knocked one of the Gotsumon in the head with his claw to keep it stunned, and then said, "Is this okay, Daisuke? Do you want me to just kill them?"

"I ..." Daisuke knew he should tell Raidramon to just crush the Gotsumon to death, but ... these were the first Digimon they'd seen in forever and the other Chosen seemed to be actively hunting them now. How could he see them used so brutally? How could he _not?_

Ichijouji returned with the ropes and other gear just as the Gotsumon were starting to recover, and he bound each of them securely while Daisuke helplessly watched. "Raidramon," said Ichijouji as he worked. "Do you think you can carry them as well as us?"

"Oh, no problem," said Raidramon.

"The Digimon Kaizer," moaned one of the Gotsumon, starting to recover its speech. "No, no." Ichijouji muffled it by rolling it in one of the blankets before tying off the rope.

"We have to get as far away from here as possible before tomorrow morning," said Ichijouji as he tied the other. He raised his chin toward the mountain towering above them. "Maybe that way. I need somewhere quiet to work."

"Hey, Raidramon is tired," said Daisuke. "We were traveling all night."

"I can do it," said Raidramon. "This is important, right? I can do it."

That wasn't the response Daisuke had hoped to get, but even through his misgivings and despair, he knew that Ichijouji was right. Where there were two Gotsumon, there were very likely to be more, and they needed to get away from here as quickly as possible. "Yeah, buddy," said Daisuke, defeated. "It's important."

"Then you can count on me."

Ichijouji got both Gotsumon tied up in the rolled blankets, and with Daisuke's help he hoisted them onto Raidramon's back, lashing them down like so much extra baggage. Then they both mounted, and Raidramon set his course up the mountain. Ichijouji said they should turn before they got to the tree line, and take a different direction to throw off any possible pursuit. He would need some time, he said, to draw the data he needed.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a good thing that Raidramon had eaten his fill at the last stop, because Ichijouji had them on the move until just after nightfall. Daisuke grew tired long before that point and caught some sleep leaning against Raidramon's shoulder spikes. He roused unwillingly when Raidramon stopped and rumbled a question, one that Daisuke was too sleepy to catch and so he had to ask his partner to repeat it.

"I said," said Raidramon, "do you think this looks like a good place to stop for a few hours?"

The Digimon's voice was saturated with exhaustion. Daisuke barely looked around before agreeing, and swung himself down to the ground. "It looks fine," he said.

"Yes," said Ichijouji. "This is fine."

The place was a level spot of ground with a sheer cliff rising to one side of it, and a thick stand of oversized kitchen appliances on the other. It was too dark by this point to see very much, but the sky overhead was obscured by tree branches. It was here, Daisuke realized with weary sickness, that at least one of these Gotsumon was going to die, and die horribly.

Once Veemon had devolved, Ichijouji untied the precious laptop from the baggage and unrolled one of the Gotsumon while Daisuke explored the environs further. There didn't seem to be any paths, _per se,_ and the leaf litter on the ground looked undisturbed except for a few marks from Raidramon's claws. There was, however, a sort of clear area that followed the cliff and led to a steep drop-off; when Daisuke checked that way, he discovered glittering water below the overlook. It seemed in the darkness to be a sort of lake, or large pond, and the distant, liquid songs of frogs rose up from the water like mist.

When he returned to the campsite, Veemon was already asleep and Ichijouji was sitting cross-legged on the ground making things with the laptop; one item materialized in a shower of golden sparks as Daisuke approached, and he saw to some horror that it was a large metal saw. The unwrapped, still-bound Gotsumon was watching with undisguised panic in its yellow eyes, and its mouth was moving but it had somehow been robbed of its voice. Its eyes darted up to Daisuke when the Chosen Child came into view, begging for help.

Daisuke felt nauseated. He could stop this, right now. All he needed to do was wake Veemon. His Digimon was tired, but not too tired to enforce Daisuke's will on the Kaizer.

"I don't think I can let you do this," he said, with uncertainty.

Ichijouji glanced up at him, eyes shadowed and unreadable. "Don't try to stop me," he said.

"I'm not going to just try." Daisuke took a step forward, intending to take the laptop away; he'd let Veemon sleep through this if possible.

The Kaizer stood up and faced Daisuke, computer on the ground next to him. "Motomiya," he said. "This is the only way for me to get the data I need."

"We'll find some other way to get north."

"There _is_ no other way." Ichijouji took out his Digivice and checked it, then put it back into his pocket. "Your friends aren't out hunting us at night, but they'll be back tomorrow, and you know it."

"We'll find another way," said Daisuke again, stubbornly. He couldn't just stand by and watch an atrocity performed directly in front of him. He was sure of that now. No matter what the risk to himself, he couldn't let the Digimon Kaizer _decompile_ a Digimon while he had the power to stop it.

Ichijouji just stood there and regarded Daisuke for a long few moments; then he moved closer, stepping right over the bound Gotsumon. "There is no other way," he said softly. "The only other way is to be captured, and go back to Skip Phase, and die there quickly if we're lucky. I don't want that to happen, Motomiya. I don't want it to happen to me, or to you, or to Veemon."

Daisuke hesitated; it had never occurred to him to worry about Veemon, but of course now he was going to do exactly that. And by this point the Kaizer was very close at hand, almost breathing on Daisuke's cheek, and Daisuke was getting a little flustered at the proximity. "We won't go back to Skip Phase," said Daisuke. "I'll make sure of that."

"Please kiss me," said Ichijouji.

This was some kind of trick, Daisuke knew, but since he was being literally invited ... He stripped off one glove so he could card his fingers through Ichijouji's soft spikes of hair, and the Kaizer closed his eyes a moment and lifted his head into the touch.

"We aren't going back to Skip Phase," said Daisuke again, but when Ichijouji leaned closer and brushed their lips together, and his hands went around Daisuke's waist, and he was so close and so beautiful ... Daisuke groaned and all but fell into the kiss. He ran his hands up Ichijouji's back under the cloak – one gloved, one bare – until Ichijouji gasped a little as he found one of the healing wounds. Daisuke, possessive, pressed harder, until Ichijouji gasped once more.

Then Ichijouji's mouth parted, and a wet tongue brushed over Daisuke's lips until Daisuke reciprocated. The kiss became incredible at that moment, deep and intimate, as though Ichijouji had somehow managed to reach in and touch Daisuke's soul; Daisuke crushed the other boy to himself until Ichijouji breathed a little cry into Daisuke's mouth. Daisuke's entire body felt alight, bright, somehow too hot under his clothing, and yet he wanted to be as close to Ichijouji as he possibly could. He ground his hips against the Kaizer's.

Gloved hands slid over Daisuke's waist, and one somehow got between them until Ichijouji was roughly rubbing Daisuke's erection through his pants. Daisuke groaned again, holding Ichijouji tightly, and he _knew_ what Ichijouji was doing here but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to care. It felt too good, too _right,_ to hold this cold genius close and feel his hands and taste his mouth.

Presently the Kaizer managed to get enough space in between them to properly unzip Daisuke's pants and jack him off, and Daisuke let him do all the work there. The kiss was broken then, and Daisuke leaned against Ichijouji's cloaked shoulder while the Kaizer stroked him until the light inside him flared bright, and he came messily across Ichijouji's hand. He almost lost his balance for a moment, but regained it shortly thereafter, kissing up the side of Ichijouji's neck and ear and rubbing his nose in Ichijouji's wild hair.

"It's the only way," whispered Ichijouji, while Daisuke was still hazy. "It's only one Digimon."

"Eh," said Daisuke, feeling too good to have this argument again. "Let's not talk about this now. Later, maybe."

"... maybe." Ichijouji pulled away, until he could look Daisuke in the eye, and when Daisuke frowned a resigned look crossed his face. "Okay. Okay. But let's not decide anything right now. We're both tired."

"I'm not going to change my mind," said Daisuke. He sighed and moved to zip his pants back up, checking first to ensure nothing messy had happened to them. They seemed to be clean. "You can't molest me into agreeing to let you torture a Digimon."

"That's not what I was doing," said Ichijouji. "But, fine." He wiped his hand off on the side of a recumbent dishwasher, and pulled out his Digivice to check it again. "Maybe we should stay here the night, then. Veemon has to be exhausted."

Daisuke felt kind of exhausted right now himself. The sexual release had left him with a sort of fine tremor in his limbs, but someone had to keep watch and he knew it was going to be him. "You sleep," Daisuke said. "I'll sleep later in the morning after Veemon is up."

"No," said Ichijouji, tucking his Digivice back into his pocket. "You sleep first. I'll stay up. I'm not as tired as you look."

This was a ... new concept, really. Up until now, Daisuke had kept watch while Veemon slept, and Ichijouji could sleep or not depending on his preference. For Ichijouji to offer to maintain a watch so Daisuke could rest ...

"No," said Daisuke. "You're still hurt."

"Not as much as I used to be."

"But ..."

"Nothing is going to happen," said the Kaizer. "If anything comes up I'll wake you straight away. I promise."

Daisuke _was_ worn out. Perhaps if he'd gotten any rest at all during the day, things would have been different, but he'd been worrying about what Ichijouji planned to do to that Gotsumon instead of napping on Raidramon's back. He'd been up for more than a full day. And he felt really good, his body falling into a kind of post-orgasm lassitude that begged for him to just lay down and stretch out for a while.

He dithered for a while longer before saying, "Well, okay. But if _anything_ comes up, you wake me right away. I don't care if I've only gotten ten minutes of sleep. You hear or see _anything,_ you wake me."

The Kaizer raised a hand to his heart. "I promise," he said again.

So Daisuke took the blanket that had been wrapped around the captured Gotsumon and made himself comfortable next to Veemon; the Digimon woke briefly when Daisuke settled in next to him, but quickly dropped off again.

The last thing Daisuke remembered before he drifted off to sleep was Ichijouji shutting down the laptop and closing it.

When he woke again, it was mid-morning, and neither Ichijouji nor the bound Gotsumon was anywhere in sight.

This induced a moment of naked panic in Daisuke, to wake up and _not_ see the blue-clad boy close at hand. He scrambled to his feet, looking around frantically, and almost raised his voice to call Ichijouji's name but remembered himself at the last moment.

"Ichijouji," he hissed in a loud whisper. "Where are you? Ichijouji!"

"Daisuke?" asked Veemon, stretching where he'd been resting next to Daisuke all morning. "What's wrong?"

It took only a moment for Daisuke to explain the problem, and for Veemon to sniff out the solution: Ichijouji had gone toward the overlook above the lake. Daisuke took off in that direction, half-terrified and half-angry, hoping that Ichijouji had a damned good explanation for why he'd just abandoned Daisuke and Veemon asleep that way.

There was, indeed, an explanation, but it wasn't a good one. Daisuke discovered it before he reached the overlook, when he stumbled around an outcropping of the cliff and found Ichijouji sitting on the ground with the laptop on his knees, surrounded by dismembered pieces of dead Gotsumon, typing with one hand and with a black Spiral in the other.

* * *

"How could you _do_ this?" Daisuke demanded, his knuckles stinging and his rage barely contained.

Ichijouji picked himself up carefully from where Daisuke had knocked him down, and didn't attempt to retaliate for the strike any more than he had tried to evade it or defend himself. "It was the only way," he said quietly, straightening his glasses and his clothes.

"No, it wasn't! There were plenty of other ways! We were going to find one!"

"If you say so."

Daisuke was carefully _not_ looking at the gory mess on the ground, lest he start retching. It was as horrific as he'd feared it would be, exactly as bloody and awful as his imagination had pictured. He couldn't even conceive of being able to watch a live Digimon turned into these _pieces,_ let alone actually performing the work. "You're sick," said Daisuke. "You're sick, and you're a monster."

Ichijouji licked the corner of his mouth where Daisuke had struck him, checking for blood that wasn't there. "Think what you like," he said. "What's done is done, and now I have a working Spiral. I just need to do a little testing now, and it will be ready to deploy."

"Ready to deploy," said Daisuke, incredulous that the Kaizer could phrase it in such dry terms. "You're talking about enslaving Digimon with a device that you made by vivisecting another one!"

"Yes," said Ichijouji mildly. "That's exactly what I propose."

"You're _sick!"_

Was there any way back from this? Was there any way for Daisuke to ever look kindly on the Digimon Kaizer again? At the moment it didn't feel like there was; the only things Daisuke could feel were white rage and disgust. Was there ever a way for him to trust Ichijouji ever again? Unlikely.

But Ichijouji did have one thing right: what was done was done, and there was no way to go back in time and un-do it. Daisuke grabbed Ichijouji by the wrist in one hand, and scooped up the laptop in the other, dragging his companion and the priceless computer back to where the other Gotsumon still lay rolled up in a blanket and Veemon waited.

After throwing Ichijouji to the ground, Daisuke held up the laptop. "You don't get to touch this again," he said. "You're lucky I don't just smash it right here."

"Now you're being ridiculous," said Ichijouji.

"Am I?"

"Yes. If you want to hit me, just hit me. If you want to ... do something sexual to me again, come do it. But don't be ludicrous." Ichijouji held up the Spiral in his hand; unlike the earlier mock-up model, this one shone like polished coal, and the runes on its surface glowed with hellfire in their hearts. "I'm going to test this, whether on that Gotsumon or on something else, and I'm going to calibrate it, and then I'm going to make more so that I can capture some Digimon. If you don't like that, then ..." He raised his chin a touch. "Then you might as well take your Digimon and leave me here."

_Leave_ him. That thought had never crossed Daisuke's mind. _Leave_ his charge, whom he'd sworn in his heart to protect? Never.

"I'm not leaving you," said Daisuke, some of the rage gone, splashed away by the cold water of shock at the suggestion. "But I'm not letting you torture any more Digimon, either!"

Ichijouji shook his head. "The hard part is done, Motomiya. Ringing Digimon is easy, and it doesn't even hurt them to be reprogrammed. Look. I know you're upset, but it's because you have the luxury of being squeamish. I don't. I'm willing to do all the messy stuff for you, as long as you just let me get it done."

"You didn't do that _for me,"_ said Daisuke, incredulous. "You did that because you enjoy watching Digimon suffer!"

"I did it because I needed the data," said Ichijouji. "Now I'm going to test the Spiral and calibrate it, and you don't have to watch that but you need to not get in my way for it either."

"You're a horrible person," said Daisuke, but he surrendered the laptop when Ichijouji reached for it. What was done was done. It could not be undone.

"I'm willing to be."

Daisuke decided to supervise the testing of the Spiral, just in case Ichijouji used it to torture the other Gotsumon. Said other Gotsumon was still wrapped up in a blanket, and Daisuke was suddenly glad it hadn't been forced to watch its friend so comprehensively destroyed. While Daisuke fumed, Ichijouji unrolled the second captured Digimon from the muffling blanket and opened the laptop. For whatever reason, this Gotsumon was also unable to give voice to its terror, for which Daisuke was very grateful.

Daisuke couldn't believe this was happening, or that he was just standing by to let it happen. But what was done was done. It was infuriating and sickening, but it was true.

Without fanfare, Ichijouji flipped the Gotsumon over and forced the Spiral onto the Digimon's bound wrist. The runes flared as the Spiral twisted on its own, wrapping firmly around the Digimon's lower arm; the Gotsumon squirmed, its mouth opening in apparent pain. Ichijouji turned the laptop toward himself and looked pensively at the lines of runes printing out on the screen.

"Hmmm," he murmured. "That's a problem." He started typing.

The Gotsumon would have been screaming, Daisuke thought, repulsed, if its voice had not been stolen from it. Still firmly tied, it rolled and writhed in the leaf litter, tearing at the ropes and kicking ineffectually. Ichijouji typed something on the computer, and the Gotsumon's back arched as though in terrible pain.

"What are you doing?" demanded Daisuke. "You're hurting it!"

"I'm calibrating the Spiral," said Ichijouji. He typed on the computer, not even looking at the struggling Gotsumon, and the Digimon jerked and twitched to the rhythm of the keys. "Give me a ... yes, there."

The Gotsumon gave one last silent scream, eyes screwed shut, and then relaxed; when its eyes opened, they glowed the same sullen red as the digital runes on the Spiral.

"Yes," said Ichijouji, snapping the laptop closed. "Done. Excellent." He went to untie the Gotsumon, while Daisuke took a step back. This was appalling. It was appalling, that he'd just stood by and let that happen.

Freed, the Gotsumon made a half-hearted attempt to attack its captor, but halted itself before the attempted head-butt connected with the Kaizer. Ichijouji, smiling a frightful and terrifying smile, stroked the Gotsumon's head. "There now," he said. "That's better, isn't it?"

This was Daisuke's fault, really. He'd allowed it to happen, by turning his back on the Kaizer. It was a mistake he wouldn't make again, but it was a mistake that could not be unmade.

And here was the Digimon Kaizer, the formidable opponent that Daisuke had fought, the cruel tyrant, the proud and imperial slave master. He was a world away from the wounded, miserable boy Daisuke had rescued from Skip Phase, the torturer and not the tortured.

"Okay," said Daisuke, very uneasy. "You've got it working. Now what?"

"Now," said the Kaizer, and he laughed. The laugh sent gooseflesh up Daisuke's arms and the back of his neck. "Now, I need another Digimon. A better one. An Airdramon would be perfect, actually." He snapped his fingers and raised his hand, and another Spiral appeared in it as though summoned from the void, black sparks appearing from nowhere and spinning together to form the implement. "Or a Pegasusmon."

* * *

Daisuke vetoed the whole concept of luring in one of the Chosen. Although it would have been quite easy, and perhaps tactically intelligent, there was no way Daisuke could stomach enslaving one of his friends' Digimon; he was friends with those Digimon as much as he was friends with their human partners. And besides, what would the humans do with themselves if their Digimon were stolen here? They would be stranded in the woods, far from any Gate.

Ichijouji had no compunctions whatsoever about stranding one of the Chosen, but he acquiesced anyway. "If I see a Chosen Digimon, though," he warned, "I'm taking it."

The Gotsumon the Kaizer had enslaved was useless, really, and Ichijouji didn't want to weigh down Raidramon with it any further. Nor could they just leave the Digimon behind, whether Spiraled or not; Ichijouji refused to leave a Spiral behind for the Chosen to find and examine, and an un-Spiraled Gotsumon would be just as much of a danger to them now as before. So it had to die. Ichijouji took the Spiral off the Digimon's arm and Daisuke had Raidramon crush the creature.

Of course, that was murder. Daisuke would have thought that after murdering an entire village of baby Digimon, murdering one more child evolution would be easy, but it wasn't. Whatever Ichijouji had done to silence it was still in effect, but the Gotsumon nevertheless pleaded for its life with eloquent gestures and a terrified expression. Raidramon was unmoved, but Daisuke was not so impervious to pity. He felt horrible when Raidramon crunched the Digimon to pulp and dust under his great paw.

"I hate you," said Daisuke quietly, as he tied the packs to Raidramon's armor. It wasn't his intention to go very far, but they needed to get away from this place. Daisuke couldn't stand to stay here another minute.

"Okay," said Ichijouji, and then, "I'm sorry."

"You are not. If you're going to lie to me, at least do me the courtesy of doing it well."

"I see." Ichijouji swung himself up onto Raidramon's back in front of the packs and offered a hand up to Daisuke. "I've been a killer for a long time, Motomiya. I'm willing to continue doing the killing, if that helps you."

"It wouldn't." It took a moment for Daisuke to take the Kaizer's hand to accept the pull up onto the armor Digimon's back. Things had fundamentally changed since yesterday. "In fact, I would appreciate it if you never killed anything again."

"Unrealistic," said the Kaizer.

They moved downhill a ways, until they could reach the lake, where Daisuke intended to rest of the remainder of the day and let Ichijouji get some sleep. He put Ichijouji down in the dim woods well back from the lake shore, and then he and Veemon scouted around the water for food. Near the far side of the lake they found a tree growing ordinary-looking apples, and while Veemon stuffed himself Daisuke took off his jacket and picked several apples to take back to Ichijouji.

Upon returning, he found Ichijouji nowhere to be found, and scouted about in alarm for a few minutes before discovering the boy swimming out in the lake.

Unacceptable. _Unacceptable._ Daisuke was fuming by the time Ichijouji returned to shore, walking naked out of the lake with the water slicking down his hair. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded. "Anything could fly over and see you!"

Ichijouji picked up his cloak from the pile of clothes he'd left on the shore, and showed Daisuke the black Spiral concealed beneath it. "I was ready for that," he said.

"Do you really think whatever spotted you would be so kind as to come down and be Spiraled?" asked Daisuke.

"If it was an Airdramon, yes," said Ichijouji. He dropped his cloak and shook out his hair, and then started to get dressed in his blue-and-white pants. With his hair down in this way and a bruise starting to darken on the point of his cheek, he looked less like the Digimon Kaizer and more like the boy who had fled from Daisuke through the halls of Odaiba Elementary. "I really want an Airdramon."

"You're nuts," said Daisuke. "An Airdramon would just report back to the Holy Beasts. It wouldn't get anywhere near you."

Ichijouji scoffed. "You obviously don't know them as well as I do."

The marks on Ichijouji's back were well on their way to becoming thin scars. The more complicated cuts still gaped a little, but the simpler ones were closed and pink. The message remained readable.

Some things had changed, fundamentally, since yesterday, but some things had not. Reading the words that had been sliced into Ichijouji's back softened some of Daisuke's rage at the boy's cruelty; if the Kaizer was cruel, Daisuke thought, he did have his reasons. They weren't good enough reasons – no reason could possibly excuse what he'd done – but his behavior wasn't without purpose.

Daisuke approached and ran a hand over Ichijouji's bird-thin shoulder, before the other boy could conceal himself again behind armor. Ichijouji stiffened.

"We need to get some things straight," said Daisuke. His voice was more gentle than he'd intended it to be. "When I tell you not to do something, you don't do it."

"I don't take orders from you, Motomiya," said the Kaizer, his words just as soft. He didn't try to evade Daisuke's touch, but he did nothing to encourage it either.

"It's not an order, it's a fact. You have to listen to me and do what I tell you." He stroked his hand down Ichijouji's injured back, and thought it marvelous that the deep blue of the high mountain lake was almost the same shade as Ichijouji's eyes. "Don't fight me on this, okay?"

"I do what I have to do," said Ichijouji. "I need you, but don't forget that you need me, too. I'm going to get home, and I'll take you with me, but that's only going to happen if you let me do what I need to do."

"We would have found some other way," said Daisuke.

"I'm not going back there." The Kaizer took a step until he was out of Daisuke's range, and then he started to put on his shirt. "I'll make your friends kill me outright."

"Nobody is going back to Skip Phase," said Daisuke. "And nobody's dying, either. I'll protect you from whatever comes, it's just that ..." He searched for words. "I can't let you do that again."

"It won't have to be done again."

"You're not doing anything _like it_ again, either. Now come on, get back into the trees."

Ichijouji put on his glasses, and picked up his shoes and cloak to obey. Daisuke followed him, feeling like he was herding the Kaizer rather than accompanying him.

Veemon was resting under a young oak tree when Daisuke and Ichijouji returned to him, full of apples but not sleeping. Daisuke tossed an apple to Ichijouji.

"Here," he said, and Ichijouji dropped his cloak to catch it.

Ichijouji didn't look very Kaizerish right now, glasses notwithstanding, and it was hard to believe that this ordinary-looking child had done the terrible thing that Daisuke had witnessed. Daisuke wasn't sure what to do with Ichijouji now.

As horrified as he was by the morning's operation, there was still something Daisuke had to admire about Ichijouji Ken. He'd wondered, not that long ago, how Ichijouji had managed to survive with the Gates closed to him, and he thought now that he knew: by any means necessary. If Ichijouji had to kill to survive, he would kill; if torture was necessary, he would make his instruments out of nothing and get straight to work.

If it meant groveling in the dirt before the Chosen Children, that was what he would do. Daisuke wondered if there was anything the Kaizer was unwilling to do to survive, any line he wouldn't cross. Daisuke hadn't found one yet.

"You're a monster," Daisuke said, for no reason except that it was true.

"Okay," said Ichijouji agreeably. He tossed the core of the apple aside and sat down to put on his shoes. Then, when that was finished and he was on his feet again, he said, "You're watching me."

Daisuke couldn't deny it. "I'm wondering what to do with you," he said. "I'm thinking I should maybe tie you to a tree while I'm sleeping."

"While you're sleeping, or while I am?"

"Hah." Daisuke threw the Kaizer a second apple. "I just don't trust you anymore."

"I did what had to be done," said Ichijouji. "What you weren't able to do. I'm willing to get my hands dirty if you're not. You ought to be thanking me."

_Thanking_ him. Daisuke frowned, furious. "I'm not going to _thank_ you for doing something that's going to give me nightmares!" he said.

"Then don't, but at least you didn't have to watch it, and you aren't the one who had to do it."

"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."

"I'm pretending nothing." Ichijouji took a bite of apple. "I hope we find a good Digimon soon. Something with a flight evolution. As much as I'm enjoying being berated by you, I'd like to skip the rest of this trip."

Some of Daisuke's rage faded at the defeated tone of Ichijouji's voice. "I'm not berating you," he said. "I'm disgusted that you did that, and that you did it behind my back after I told you not to."

"Well," said Veemon suddenly. "He _did_ say what he was planning, and we _did_ catch some Gotsumon for him. It was gross and wrong, but it shouldn't be any surprise, Daisuke."

Ichijouji ate his apple while Daisuke mulled that over, and then tossed the second core off into the underbrush and sat down. "There are villages on the other side of the mountains," he said after a long silence. "I expect we'll be able to find suitable Digimon in one of them."

Villages. Daisuke didn't want to slaughter more villages of Digimon, and the alternative wasn't much better. "I'm not in this to enslave Digimon," he said. "We can catch one or two, to help us get north, but ..."

"We'll take what we need," said Ichijouji wearily, as he stretched out beneath the oak tree. "It depends on what we find. If we find Tyrannamon, we'll need a lot more than one or two to get as far as we need to go. If we find Monodramon, then maybe we need only one." Ichijouji rolled over to look at Daisuke; his hair was drying into loose spikes, which fell around his face. "Once we get to safety, I'm going to reconstruct my empire, and you'll be surrounded by Digimon slaves. You may as well get used to it now."

"I don't have to get used to it at all," said Daisuke, irritated.

"Yes, you do. I'm going to hurt this world as hard as I can, until it's bleeding from the seams and lets me go. If you can't handle that, well. I don't know what to tell you." Ichijouji's voice was very tired, but his eyes behind the dark glasses were turning a little wild. "We need one another, Motomiya. That's the only reason ..." He paused, and then said, "We're both human. We're from the same world. I need you, and you need me."

Daisuke couldn't argue that, but he remained unsure. "I don't know if I can do it," he said.

Ichijouji was quiet for a long time before rising to his knees. "The hard part is over, Motomiya," he said gently. "What's ahead is easy. The Spirals are calibrated and the change should be instantaneous on any Digimon."

"But ..."

"I'll take care of everything," Ichijouji interrupted. "You don't have to do anything." Then, with an odd note in his voice, the dark-eyed boy said, "If you're not going to leave me, what are you going to do? I'm not going to pass up any useful Digimon."

"I'll ... I'll think about that later," said Daisuke. He had no conception anymore about how to control Ichijouji, and _leaving_ the other boy was just not an option whatsoever. Just thinking about what Ichijouji had done to that Gotsumon turned Daisuke's stomach, but was there really any way to prevent him from doing something equally diabolical in the future? Other than just never turning his back on the Kaizer ever again? "But I'm not leaving you behind. Don't ever worry about that." He laid a hand on Ichijouji's chest and nudged a little distance between them. "You should really sleep now. Lay down again."

After a moment, Ichijouji acquiesced, and settled himself on the ground once more, but it was a long time before Daisuke looked his way and saw him to be asleep.

* * *

They carried the two Spirals Ichijouji had made tied loosely to the packs, where he could reach them in a moment if he needed them.

For another two nights Raidramon climbed toward the hoped-for pass between the mountains. They reached the tree line after one, and followed it for one more, staying concealed as best as they could.

Pursuit was becoming more heated; Daisuke thought that maybe the other Chosen had found some sign of them, because the Digivices of the other Chosen pinged his quite frequently now, and they were getting closer. Perhaps there _had_ been more Gotsumon, who reported their friends missing. Perhaps the ... remains of the Kaizer's data-collection had been discovered. Perhaps both.

It was still too dangerous to travel during the day, but Daisuke urged Raidramon to a quicker pace during the night, exhausting the Digimon before morning. He didn't want the Chosen to catch them. He didn't want the Kaizer to catch one of his friends' Digimon, and he didn't want to get into a fight with the children who had watched his back and fought under his command for so long.

They were perhaps another two days from the valley when they were finally found.

It happened at night, and consequently took Daisuke completely by surprise. They'd come out of the trees to make better time on the rocky ground above the tree line, Raidramon's claws clicking on the stones and accompanied by the thin whistle of the wind through the scrubby shrubs. It was easy going over the hard ground, and simple enough for Raidramon to navigate even with no moon in the sky. Daisuke, who never got enough sleep during the day, was dozing a bit on Raidramon's back and not paying a bit of attention to his surroundings.

He noticed, however, when Raidramon abruptly stopped moving, and woke to see his Digimon's head raised and ears pricked.

"What is it?" Daisuke whispered, alert immediately. Behind him, Ichijouji shifted, turning a bit and picking at the baggage behind him, saying nothing.

"Digimon," said Raidramon. "You can't hear them?"

Daisuke listened intently, but heard nothing. That hardly mattered, though; he trusted Raidramon to sift the sounds of Digimon from the wind. "Back to the tree line," Daisuke whispered. "Hurry!"

"Hang on!"

Raidramon made a leaping turn to scramble back into the trees, but at the point of the turn Daisuke felt Ichijouji flip his leg over the Digimon's back and jump off to the ground. Raidramon did not stop, and Daisuke, incredulous at this development, looked back over his shoulder but could barely see the dark-clad Kaizer in the near-blackness of the night. "Wait!" whispered Daisuke as loudly as he could. "Raidramon, wait!"

They were back into the trees by then, and Daisuke could hear it now himself: a distant buzz. "We have to go back for him!" Daisuke whispered, and Raidramon made a snorting noise.

"If you say so," said Raidramon, but he started back up the slope without hesitation.

Ichijouji was standing now, Daisuke could see in the starry darkness, and the red glow of digital runes marked where he held a Spiral in his hand. "Flymon!" called Ichijouji, his voice ringing out against the cold mountainside. "Come and get me for your masters!"

_What._ Daisuke could not even process what Ichijouji was doing here. He urged Raidramon to climb the slope, but what had been crossed downhill in seconds was taking Raidramon an age to cross back uphill. The Kaizer stood proudly, Spiral in hand and gold-edged cloak flared out behind him like an insect's wings, while the buzz grew louder and then suddenly something dark came out of the sky and snatched at Ichijouji.

It was impossible for Daisuke to follow what was happening with nothing but the thready light of the stars. The Kaizer's whip cracked, and then again, and the air was filled with buzzing while a huge shape darted this way and that. A second flying creature joined the first, and the Kaizer cracked his whip a third time while one of the shapes dropped to the ground, flailing and jack-knifing as though in terrible pain.

Raidramon was finally within range himself, and Daisuke slid off his Digimon's back to the sloped ground so that Raidramon could defend them all. _"Blue Thunder!"_ called the Digimon, and the white light of the attack briefly illuminated the scene: the Kaizer standing upright with blood on his face; a Flymon on the ground, thrashing; a second Flymon briefly caught mid-flight by Raidramon's ball lightning. Daisuke scrambled to climb the rest of the way to Ichijouji, not certain what he was going to do when he reached the boy.

He didn't even get close before Ichijouji raised his Digivice. "Flymon!" called Ichijouji, voice high and commanding. "Dark Digivolve!"

The Flymon on the ground groaned, and Daisuke, disbelieving, watched as silver light enveloped it. _"Flymon, Dark Digivolve to ..."_

"What the ..." said Daisuke, his jaw falling open.

The shape of the Flymon shone with light, and Daisuke could see by it that two more Flymon were trying to attack Raidramon. But the glowing one was clearly evolving: writhing, twisting, its form gaining size and mass. The light swelled and expanded, wrapping the fallen Flymon as the creature extended huge legs and vast pincers, no longer a Flymon at all.

_"Okuwamon!"_ The light swirled and sparked off into the night, leaving a hulking shape behind. It crouched in the darkness, starlight shining off its carapace.

"Okuwamon," said Ichijouji. "Kill those other Flymon!"

The enormous Digimon leapt into the air. The buzz of its flight was louder and deeper than that of the Flymon, and immediately drowned out the sound of the other Digimon. The Kaizer was laughing, the sound high and mad.

Daisuke approached his companion, Raidramon beside him, and the Kaizer whirled to face him. "Do you see?" cackled Ichijouji. "Do you see? We're going to make it, Motomiya! We're going to make it!"

"What did you just do?"

"I Spiraled one of the Flymon," said Ichijouji. "Then I evolved it."

"Yeah," said Daisuke, "but _how?_ What did you _do?"_

 _"Double Scissor Claw!"_ called the Digimon in the sky.

"It doesn't matter," said Ichijouji. "What matters is that we're going to make it." In the starlight, Daisuke could see that Ichijouji was smiling. "Do you understand? Okuwamon will fly us north!"

There was a lot to this that Daisuke really _didn't_ understand, but what was clear was that they needed to move quickly after this. Even if Okuwamon killed all of the other Flymon, when this little squadron didn't report back there would be follow-up. "Can we ride that thing?" he asked Ichijouji. "I mean, will it obey you?"

"Of course." Ichijouji pointed skyward. "The Spiral has more processing power than a Ring. It will obey."

Daisuke didn't know what processing power had to do with anything, but he ran a hand under Raidramon's chin. "So, Raidramon. How would you like to do the riding for once?"

"About time," was all Raidramon had to say.

_"Double Scissor Claw!"_

* * *

The dawn found them far north of the place where they had hoped to find a pass ... which turned out to not be a pass at all but a steep cliff that Raidramon would have been challenged to climb alone, and would have possibly found it impossible to climb with riders. Okuwamon carried them over the cliff effortlessly, and as the sun peeked over the horizon the huge Digimon buzzed heavily over the forest-carpeted flanks of the snow-capped mountains.

Ichijouji directed the creature down and through the branches, several snapping off as Okuwamon forced its way through them and came to a lumbering landing on the forest floor. There they got the packs off the beast and Ichijouji let it devolve back to Flymon.

"That is ... something else," said Daisuke. This looked like a decent enough place to spend the day, he thought, with the early morning light filtering through a dense network of tree branches overhead. The broken place where Okuwamon had dropped down through the tree canopy wasn't that big, and he doubted it would be visible from the air.

"It's normal," said Ichijouji. "I'm a Chosen Child. Evolving Digimon is what we do. It's literally our entire purpose in life."

Somehow, the night before, he'd taken a cut to the forehead, and dried blood smeared across his face. Daisuke licked his fingers and tried to scrub some of it off Ichijouji's bruised cheek. "But Flymon isn't your partner Digimon," he said, and then a moment of doubt struck him. "Is it?"

"No. It's a function of Rings, and Spirals, too. They amplify my Digivice. I can force anything to evolve as long as I have a Ring on it." Ichijouji submitted quietly to the cleaning until Daisuke was satisfied, after which he went to the packs to dig out the laptop. "How do you think it was that I always had adult Digimon with me, never child evolutions?"

Daisuke had put zero thought into that previously, having just assumed that Ichijouji took the Digimon as he found them. "But Flymon is already an adult," he said, wiping his hand off on his pants.

"Yes." Ichijouji opened the laptop and hit the power button. "The Spiral is more powerful than a Ring. There are no dark towers here to power it, so I had to make it ... well, it's powered differently. I tried to make it ..." He tapered off, frowning at the screen, and hit the power again.

"What's the matter?" asked Daisuke.

Ichijouji pushed the power button a few more times and said, "It won't come on." He then glanced shrewdly up at Daisuke. "This was on Raidramon's back when he attacked those Flymon last night, wasn't it?"

Oh. _Damn._ Daisuke's heart sank straight into his belly. "Yes," he said. "There wasn't time to get the packs off."

"Ahhh." Ichijouji tried a few more times to get it to boot, and then closed it and set it aside.

He didn't look angry or upset, certainly not as upset as Daisuke felt. "What does this mean?" asked Daisuke.

"It means we're stuck with just two Spirals," said Ichijouji. "Without the fabrication program, I can't make any more. But it's probably fine. I doubt I should be using more than two at a time anyway. And we already have Flymon now." He stroked his recumbent slave's head. "Flymon will take us north."

Flymon lay on the ground on its belly, the Spiral wrapping one of its legs. It seemed to be asleep, although it was difficult to tell with insects. "Well," said Daisuke, hoping Ichijouji was right about the computer, "if we had to be found, it's lucky that we were found by a flying Digimon. We ought to make good enough time now."

"Yeah," said Veemon. "It certainly was lucky, wasn't it?"

The Digimon's voice was very hard, and when Daisuke glanced his way, Veemon was glaring at the Kaizer. Ichijouji returned the regard with a very mild expression.

"I completely agree," said Ichijouji.

"And it was certainly lucky that you knew what was coming for us," said Veemon. _"I_ didn't even know they were Flymon until they were on top of us. Lucky for us that you knew right away, and you were ready with that Spiral of yours."

What Veemon was trying to say hit Daisuke like a wallop over the head, and he rounded on the Kaizer. "You set us up!" he said. "You called them somehow!"

"I don't know how you think I might have done that," said Ichijouji. "My Digivice is only capable of signaling to other Digivices."

"You used the computer, somehow," said Daisuke. "You built some kind of program to lure in Flymon!"

"Now, why would I want to lure in a Flymon when I could have an Airdramon?" asked Ichijouji. "If I was going to call for anything, it would be an Airdramon."

Daisuke was quite sure now that Veemon was right about this; the way Ichijouji had reacted the night before, swiftly moving to Spiral a foe that Daisuke had barely been able to see at all, said that he'd been expecting something like that to happen and had been ready for it. "I can't believe you," said Daisuke. "Is there _anything_ I can trust you _not_ to do behind my back?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about here," said Ichijouji. "I didn't summon any Digimon to attack us. I _was_ ready for an attack, but that's because they've been getting closer to us, not because I asked for an attack."

"I really am going to start tying you up during the day," said Daisuke. "Next you'll be trying to put the other Spiral on Veemon or something."

Ichijouji hesitated, and then said, "If that's what you feel like you need to do."

The Kaizer's acquiescence gave Daisuke pause, because of course this was the fantasy he'd been nurturing almost since the flight from Skip Phase. If Ichijouji didn't try to fight him on it ... "Maybe it _is_ what I feel like I need to do," said Daisuke. "I don't trust you as far as I can throw you anymore."

"Not to a tree," said Ichijouji. He stroked Flymon's head with a surprisingly gentle touch, as though he held real affection toward the Digimon he'd so cruelly reprogrammed. "If we're ambushed, I need to be able to run."

"Fine."

The morning was growing brighter around them, the light that filtered through the trees shading from gray toward gold, and somewhere out in the forest birds were beginning to chirp. Wind rustled the tops of the trees, and although it could not reach the ground, it created shifting shadows as it moved the leaves. Daisuke, anger mixing with a nascent arousal at the thought of tying up Ichijouji, moved closer so he could slide his fingers into Ichijouji's hair, then closed his hand to take hold and pulled Ichijouji against him.

Ichijouji hissed with pain, but didn't resist; he moved where he was forced to move, and submitted to the rough kiss Daisuke inflicted on him. He parted his lips willingly enough when Daisuke's tongue demanded it, letting Daisuke fall into that deep, passionate kiss that had been Daisuke's undoing not so many days past. Daisuke ran the fingers of his other hand into the Kaizer's hair, and fisted it to grip him even more tightly, turning Ichijouji's head to tilt into the deep kiss. When he tugged, Ichijouji had to lay hands on his shoulders to maintain balance, and it felt very nice indeed to have the infuriating, amoral creature leaning so closely against him.

For a long while, Daisuke just kissed, exploring the sensations that ran down his body from the kiss and pooled in his groin. Ichijouji moaned when Daisuke pulled at his hair, hurting him just for the sake of doing it, and that gave Daisuke's erection a tight thrill.

Eventually, Daisuke pulled the Kaizer away slightly, just enough to speak. "Put your hands behind your back."

Slowly, Ichijouji obeyed, letting his hands drop away from Daisuke's shoulders and clasping them behind his back. Daisuke took this as explicit permission; after all, if Ichijouji really wanted him to stop, the other boy would just do one of his martial arts things and put Daisuke straight to the ground. So Daisuke knew he wanted it, and if Ichijouji wanted it, then there was no reason not to do it.

With a rope from one of the rolled-up blankets, Daisuke firmly bound Ichijouji's wrists together behind his back. "You're a horrible person," he whispered as he did it. "You're twisted and you're evil and you're maybe even crazy."

"Maybe," said Ichijouji, almost whispering in return. He tested the bindings once he was tied, and then looked at Daisuke with a not-insignificant amount of trepidation in his dark eyes. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Beat you up, I hope," said Veemon. "But knowing Daisuke he's just going to kiss you again or something."

"Yeah," said Daisuke to his Digimon, "I was thinking about kissing him again."

"If it were up to _me,_ I'd beat him up," said Veemon. The Digimon then stretched out next to the baggage, and said, "Wake me when there's food."

Although Veemon hadn't carried them the entire night, he still deserved some rest. Daisuke pulled the Kaizer by the cloak a little way away from Flymon and Veemon, and then pushed him up against a tree.

"Maybe you should beat me up," said Ichijouji. "You enjoy doing that, and it might make you feel better."

"Maybe I should." But Daisuke wasn't inclined. He had a powerful erection now, and he was going to do something about it.

_Something,_ for now, felt like pinning Ichijouji against the tree with one of Daisuke's knees between the Kaizer's, and kissing him deeply while rubbing their hips together. Daisuke again put his hands into Ichijouji's blue-black spikes, and _pulled_ just for the sake of feeling Ichijouji's sharp intake of breath through the kiss. It was _Daisuke_ in control here, he needed the Kaizer to know. It was Daisuke who called the shots, who decided what they did and where they went, and Ichijouji couldn't be doing dangerous or cruel things without Daisuke's knowledge.

It was Daisuke who decided when they would kiss and when they would touch. All of this Daisuke tried to convey through the hard kiss, through the mauling of Ichijouji's hair, and through the demanding way he ground their hips against one another. Ichijouji, bound but not helpless, complied quietly with all of it, offering no objection in word or gesture.

Eventually Daisuke had to break the kiss in order to catch his breath, and he leaned against Ichijouji's armored shoulder to just inhale and thrust hard against Ichijouji's hip. The other boy, head tilted back from Daisuke's yanking on his hair, panted a bit himself, licked his lips, and then whispered, "What do you want me to do?"

What _could_ he do, with no use of his hands? Daisuke had no idea. "I don't care," he said, thinking that he would just jack himself off against the Kaizer's body. Then he'd do something for his companion, as he could feel Ichijouji's responding erection against his hip.

But Ichijouji took that answer differently from how Daisuke had intended. Carefully, the Kaizer slid down the tree to his knees, and said, "Unzip your pants."

Daisuke ... wasn't sure what was happening here, all of a sudden. He had an idea of what Ichijouji was proposing, but it certainly hadn't crossed his mind before this moment. Not that he was going to turn it down or anything; he felt like he could come at any moment just looking at the Digimon Kaizer on his knees. Hands shaking, he unfastened his pants and dropped them to mid-thigh, letting Ichijouji do whatever he wished.

A moment later he lost his balance, and had to catch himself against the tree, because his hard cock was in Ichijouji's mouth, and the warm wetness was the most incredible thing he'd ever felt in his life. It was far more intense than Daisuke's hand could ever be, hot and slick and so, so strong. Ichijouji sucked in more than half of it, and then his tongue ran over Daisuke's erection and Daisuke gasped and groaned with the power of it. He swore, and swore again, and begged Ichijouji to do that again, to just keep doing that, and _dammit,_ he'd never _imagined_ that anything could feel this good.

Without any input from his brain, Daisuke's hips moved a bit, trying to ram deeper into that liquid pleasure, and there was nothing Ichijouji could do to stop him, so when he came it was deep into the other boy's mouth. Ichijouji made a rough choking sound, and Daisuke had the presence of mind to pull out of his mouth and give him some room to breathe, but he couldn't help laughing a little as Ichijouji coughed and spit and coughed again. Everything was okay now, everything. Ichijouji was amazing, so incredible, the most incredible person Daisuke had ever known or possibly could know. He dropped to his own knees and cuddled Ichijouji's slender frame against himself, and Ichijouji submitted to this as well.

"Don't do stuff behind my back again," said Daisuke, thinking this would be the end of it, really. Nothing mattered. Nothing mattered but this moment, with his blood singing like the sunlight in water, and his body felt so light, as though he might float away.

He tried to kiss Ichijouji, just shower his face and neck with kisses, but Ichijouji turned his head so that Daisuke had to kiss his hair and ear. "You're so wonderful," whispered Daisuke.

"Okay," said Ichijouji finally, and his tone betrayed nothing.

Something about that filtered through the haze that had fallen over Daisuke's mind, and Daisuke asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Ichijouji immediately. "I'm ... just very tired. I'd like to get some sleep soon."

Well, Daisuke could do something about that. He reached between their bodies and unfastened Ichijouji's shirt and pants, his fingers finding Ichijouji's erection still hard and alert. Jacking Ichijouji off was easy enough, even with Daisuke's hands shaking a bit; Ichijouji rested lightly against Daisuke's shoulder as he did it, panting hard until he came into Daisuke's hand.

Afterward, Daisuke eased Ichijouji to the ground, laying him on his side and fastening up his clothes again. "I'll keep watch," said Daisuke, although he hadn't gotten a lot of rest the night before and his sexual exertion had made him sleepy.

"Are you really going to leave me tied up?" asked Ichijouji softly.

"Absolutely." Daisuke took off his semen-stained glove and stroked his fingers through Ichijouji's hair, petting instead of yanking this time. "I told you, I can't trust you anymore."

"Okay."

"Get to sleep. I'll wake you before it gets dark. We'll need to get something for the Digimon to eat before we start going again tonight."

"All right," said Ichijouji, closing his eyes where he'd been lain. "I'm going to be ridiculously stiff when I wake up, you know."

"It's your own fault. If you need to blame someone for that, blame yourself."


	6. Chapter 6

During the day, two of the other Chosen came dangerously close to their camp. Daisuke watched his Digivice anxiously as the two blips flew erratically around the vicinity, sometimes circling, sometimes stopping, sometimes moving in fast lines to another locale.

"They know we're not far away," he told Veemon, when the Digimon woke from his rest. "They must have found the dead Flymon."

"They'll have to go home tonight," said Veemon. "We'll be long gone by the time they come again tomorrow."

"I hope so."

Daisuke evolved Veemon up to Flamedramon to keep watch, and before going to sleep himself he spent an hour or so looking around for the inevitable food the digital forest would yield. It came in the form of long pods full of giant beans, growing from stalks that climbed the trees as vines as big around as Daisuke's arm. Daisuke dragged one pod back to the camp and had Flamedramon toast it, then he ate his fill on one of the beans and didn't finish even a quarter of it.

Ichijouji woke while Daisuke was breaking open the pod, startling awake with a fearful cry, which escalated instantly into panic when he found himself restrained. Daisuke shusshed him, holding him down by the shoulder until he woke further and calmed down.

"Damn," said Ichijouji, pressing his forehead against the leafy ground. He twisted his wrists behind his back, but soon gave up trying to escape.

"You're fine," said Daisuke. He offered a piece of giant bean to his pretty captive. "Nothing's happened. Eat something." There was no need to tell Ichijouji about the Chosen Children trying to zero in on them, so Daisuke didn't.

"I wish you'd believe me when I tell you things," said Ichijouji, struggling to sit up so he could take the bits of bean from Daisuke's fingers.

"Well, I don't. I've seen you lie, and you do it really well. I don't know how those Flymon found us just when you were ready to take one, but it's too convenient for my liking." Daisuke broke off bite-sized pieces of bean and fed them to Ichijouji one at a time. "I'd probably trust you more if you'd just admit you did it and tell me how."

"I wouldn't," said Flamedramon.

Ichijouji half-closed his eyes to accept the pieces of bean, and didn't bother to reply. Once he was adequately fed, Daisuke tossed the rest of the cooked bean into the satchel for later and stretched out to nap.

It was just after dusk when Daisuke woke again, and it was only now that he unbound the Kaizer's wrists. As promised, the other boy was stiff, wincing as he rolled his shoulders after being freed.

"That wasn't necessary," said Ichijouji, rubbing his upper left arm.

"I think it was," said Daisuke. "And it's going to be necessary tomorrow, too."

"I agree," said Flamedramon.

Flymon continued to sleep until Ichijouji actively woke it, and then it had to be told to eat. It snarled a little, like a possessive dog, as it devoured most of the remainder of the beans, eating far more than Veemon ever needed in one sitting. Daisuke checked his Digivice and saw with some relief that there were no pings on it; the other Chosen had gone home.

In some ways, he realized, he and Ichijouji had advantages over the others. They could move during the day or at night, while the Chosen had to go home every night to have dinner and sleep. The Chosen also likely had no idea that they had a Flymon, and Daisuke was absolutely certain that the Chosen had _no_ idea that Ichijouji could force-evolve Flymon into something much more potent.

Daisuke would have traded all of these advantages for an open Gate in an instant, but if he wanted to be optimistic, he had to admit that things weren't as bad as they could have been.

Once Flymon finished eating, it just stood there practically radiating hate, saying nothing and doing nothing until Ichijouji explicitly gave it instructions. Once told, however, it moved back under the broken tree branches with a natural-enough gait, and looked up toward the sky expectantly.

Daisuke and Veemon followed with the blankets and satchel; Veemon carried the broken laptop. Ichijouji said that it was unlikely to be fixable, but the hard drive might be salvageable and the Spiral program on it could be useful later. He kept the Spiral itself clipped to his belt, where it would be handy if he needed it.

"I feel bad about the computer," said Veemon.

"So do I, buddy," said Daisuke. "I should have gotten it off your back."

"Don't worry about it," said Ichijouji. "I have the second Spiral if I need it." He tapped the Spiral at his hip. "I probably won't."

Beneath the stars peeking through the broken tree branches, Flymon waited to be manipulated by its master. Ichijouji raised his Digivice and forced the creature to evolve, and the hair prickled on Daisuke's neck as silver light wrapped the unlucky Digimon. It was queer to watch Ichijouji evolve a Digimon that wasn't partnered with him; could he do that with _any_ Digimon?

Could he do that with Veemon?

Once the evolution was complete, Ichijouji had Okuwamon crouch and the three of them – two humans and one uncomfortable Digimon – climbed onto its back and thence into its mane. Daisuke and Ichijouji then lashed the blankets and satchel down to the knobs on Okuwamon's head. The Digimon waited patiently for them to finish and get settled, and only on command did it leap into the air.

Once they were airborne, Ichijouji climbed out of Okuwamon's mane and walked up onto its head, where the wind caught his cloak and he could see where they were going. Daisuke stayed put, and Veemon just huddled miserably with his claws fisted around wads of mane, holding tightly.

"I hate this," said Veemon.

"You were happy enough last night," said Daisuke. "It's better than walking the whole way."

"I hadn't thought about it as much last night. It's cruel to use Okuwamon this way."

Ichijouji turned slightly their way, and said, "It's cruel to hunt us down like animals." He checked his Digivice, and pointed. "Okuwamon, turn a bit to the right."

The great Digimon grumbled something, but obediently turned.

The sky was already dark by the time they were underway, and when Daisuke dared to peek over the side of Okuwamon's neck, he could see glimmers of light, two clusters of them like pools of fireflies, one to the west and one to the north. Villages, he realized. Okuwamon's flight path was going to take them well east of the northern village, and Daisuke hoped none of those Digimon was studying the stars that night and saw them pass. The lack of a moon made the night gloomy, and that was to their advantage now.

Ichijouji presently came back down off the Digimon's head and crouched next to Daisuke in the mane. "Look," he said, showing Daisuke the screen of his Digivice. It showed a ping, quite unlike the ping of another Digivice, intimately familiar to Daisuke. "It's a Gate."

Daisuke checked his own, and nodded. "Do you want to try it?"

Something in him pulled and yearned to toward that Gate – not too far distant, maybe an hour out of their way at Okuwamon's speed. Beyond it was home, and everything that implied: normality, family, school. Safety. Rest. Not that long ago Daisuke had passed through Gates daily or near-daily, and never thought twice about it. He'd never thought about how they functioned ... or why.

When Ichijouji did not reply, Daisuke said, "I'm willing to give it a shot."

"No," said Ichijouji. "No, it's too much of a detour."

"It wouldn't hurt to try it."

"There are other Gates," said Ichijouji, and he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Daisuke. "We need to get as much distance as possible before dawn."

Yes, they were exposed out here in the sky, riding a huge Digimon that anyone could look up and see. "Yeah," said Daisuke. "I guess you're right." He nevertheless checked his Digivice off and on for the next hour or so, until the Gate was out of range.

Okuwamon never faltered or complained, or even spoke. Daisuke wasn't sure it was capable of speech; Flymon weren't very intelligent, and it would be reasonable for a higher evolution to be just as animal-like in its thought process. By morning, the mountains were far behind them, and the forest where Ichijouji ordered Okuwamon to land was thinner. It took half an hour or so after landing to find a place where the branches were thick enough to shelter the little group from overflight.

"After tomorrow we'll be in the open," said Ichijouji. He looked a little faded today, a little sallow, as though the travel was starting to get to him again.

They'd finally decided to camp next to a slow-moving stream with a deep heart, and Daisuke had evolved Veemon up to Raidramon to check what lurked within it. Raidramon had fished out two enormous catfish, and, as Veemon, chewed through half of one while Daisuke filleted the other for himself and Ichijouji.

"We'll keep moving, then," said Daisuke. "Fly on Okuwamon during the night, and ride Raidramon during the day." He stuffed a little raw fish into his mouth, and glanced over at his partner. "That okay with you? Think you can sleep on Okuwamon's back?"

Veemon shrugged. "I can try," he said. "If I'm tired enough I can sleep anywhere. How am I supposed to transport Flymon, though?"

"You'll carry him," said Ichijouji. He swiped a bite of fish from Daisuke's filleting rock. "I'll turn him into Kunemon."

Daisuke offered Ichijouji a more substantial piece of fish, hoping it would put a little color into the other boy's cheeks to eat something. "How do you _do_ this stuff?" he asked.

Ichijouji took it, and sat down on the other side of the rock to eat it. "It's about adjusting the code," he said, between bites. "It wasn't easy to figure out how to do it, but the programs are all in my Digivice now, so it's simple enough to execute them." He eyed Daisuke. "I still have one more Spiral. It would be a good idea to capture another Digimon. If we had an Airdramon, we could be back to my base in a week."

"You and your Airdramon," muttered Daisuke. He ate more of the fish; raw fish wasn't his favorite, but he'd gotten used to it and it was safer than trying to cook it. "Airdramon this, Airdramon that. We don't have an Airdramon and we're not likely to catch one. I hope we never run into one at all."

"Airdramon are powerful fliers, and very intelligent," said Ichijouji. "I always keep some Airdramon in reserve."

"Look around, Your Majesty," said Daisuke sourly. "We don't have any reserve Airdramon here."

"That's a pity."

They fed the leftovers to Flymon, and Ichijouji then sent Flymon to sleep. It was weird, really, to see how this enslaved Digimon behaved in perfect obedience to its master. Daisuke didn't like to even look at the insect Digimon, and he sort of understood Veemon's reservations about exploiting the creature.

They had few options, though, especially at this point. As with every other Digimon they'd encountered in their journey, they'd have to kill Flymon if they decided to leave the Digimon behind, which was hardly kinder than keeping it enslaved. Flymon's powerful Okuwamon evolution was helping them to make really good time, and Daisuke felt safer every time he checked his Digivice and saw nothing on the screen. He had little doubt that they'd left their pursuers far behind at this point. It was just, in general, a good idea to have a flying Digimon to transport them, and Okuwamon was furthermore a strong Digimon and a good defense if anything did find them.

This was survival, after all, and disposing of a valuable asset because of some vague feelings of conscience ... well, it seemed unwise, at best. That didn't totally still Daisuke's prickling morals, but he was learning to ignore them.

Daisuke decided to bathe in the stream before settling in for the day. In the shadow of the overhanging trees, the water slowly pooled around and over ledges of stone, and tiny crustaceans and insect larvae crept across the stone in the endless search for food. The water was cool but not cold, and it felt good to sluice away some of the salt and grime that had accumulated from the road. Daisuke was not the biggest fan of baths back home, but the soft flow of the water felt like velvet against his skin and it had been days since he'd last taken a dip. He sat down on a sort of table of underwater stone, with the flow up to his ribcage and the soft sounds of forest life murmuring around him.

A rustle of clothing made him turn, and to his surprise he saw Ichijouji on the stream bank folding his cloak neatly on the mossy ground. As he toed off his shoes, Ichijouji glanced Daisuke's way, and said, "What?"

There was no good way to say why this astonished him so, and so Daisuke didn't bother to explain that Ichijouji had not joined him in the water since that first day out of Skip Phase, and he wasn't sure why the other boy was doing so now. He just turned his back again so as not to stare while Ichijouji undressed, and leaned far back to dip his head under the water and get his hair wet.

"I can't wait to get home," he said, as though that explained his reaction. "I'm tired of cold baths."

"There will be hot baths at my base," said Ichijouji. "Assuming the equipment still works."

"What are the chances that it doesn't?"

"My mainframe is well secured. I doubt it's damaged. It would take a Mega Digimon to break in, assuming they knew where to look for it in the complex. As long as the computers are functional, I can fix any damage to the machinery."

"But what if they aren't?" Daisuke persisted. He heard Ichijouji wade into the water, coming out onto the same underwater stone where Daisuke sat. "What if the computers are broken?"

"Then I'll have to start over from scratch," said Ichijouji. "I did it once. I can do it again."

Daisuke turned as Ichijouji sank down to kneel on the stone, but Ichijouji pushed him around and splashed water up onto Daisuke's back, hands rubbing over Daisuke's back and shoulders. "It involved a lot of things you wouldn't like," said Ichijouji. "There are a few types of Digimon that have electronics in their bodies, which can be cobbled together into a basic computer."

He was right; Daisuke didn't like the sound of that at all. But something Daisuke did like was the feel of Ichijouji's long fingers against his skin. There were hard, smooth callouses on Ichijouji's hands, Daisuke could tell, the marks of a difficult life here in the digital world. Ichijouji took Daisuke's goggles off his head and finger-combed out his hair.

"Why do you wear these?" asked the Kaizer.

"Eh? They were a present from Taichi. He retired a few months ago, but he gave them to me before he left. He was the leader of the Chosen Children, you know, but he said I should take over and I needed goggles if I was going to do that." Daisuke smiled. "Don't ask me why. It just seemed to be something he wanted, so I wear them."

"I see." Ichijouji pressed Daisuke to lean back and get his hair under the water again, and stroked his fingers through Daisuke's hair once more. "I think I remember Taichi. He led you all at the battle at Alu-Three, right?"

"Yes." That fight, a running battle through the urban center of the city, had been immensely destructive, much of the devastation caused purposefully by the Kaizer's forces. Daisuke had come to hate the Digimon Kaizer then, upon discovering an entire residential block in ruins for no apparent reason but the love of destruction. "I learned a lot from him, and a lot about you there."

"What did you learn about me?"

Daisuke had learned a lot of things that didn't sound very flattering now, so he changed the subject back to the former leader of the Chosen Children. "It was Taichi's idea to lay that ambush at the civic center. We got a lot of your Digimon with that, and it's probably the reason we won that fight."

"You didn't win that fight," said the Kaizer. He nudged Daisuke to sit up again, and put the goggles back into their accustomed place on his head. "I got the information I needed and then ordered a withdrawal. I was looking for some data on the new Chosen Digimon that had shown up, and once I had that there was no point in fighting further."

Daisuke thought about that a bit, and then said, "You're awful," without any kind of anger.

"Yes, I am."

Daisuke turned around to face Ichijouji, and didn't see a calculating tyrant at the moment, but only a dark-haired, dark-eyed child trapped in a hostile world. "Turn around," said Daisuke, and when Ichijouji obeyed he cupped water up over Ichijouji's shoulders, to return the favor. "You're not alone anymore."

"I'm sorry about that."

"I'm not asking you to be sorry. I'm just saying, you don't have to be so insane anymore. I'm here and I'll help you."

"Am I insane?" Ichijouji tried to half-turn, to look over his shoulder at Daisuke, but Daisuke pushed him back around.

"Sometimes you act like it." Daisuke ran his hands over Ichijouji's back, careful of the healing wounds.

"I don't think I'm insane. I think I do what I need to do."

"Yeah, well, if you were insane you probably would be the last person to notice that. Lay back."

Ichijouji leaned back until he was all but laying in Daisuke's lap with his hair in the water, looking up. Daisuke combed through Ichijouji's hair until it was flowing in the water, and began to gently work through a tangle. "I don't know how I'd manage if I were by myself," said Daisuke softly. "I'd probably turn myself in and hope to convince Takeru or somebody to open a Gate for me."

"I thought about that," said Ichijouji. "I hated you for a long time, because you could open Gates and I can't. But I also thought about tricking one of you into opening a Gate for me. I thought about slicking my hair down and changing clothes so you wouldn't recognize me, pretending to be another ordinary Chosen Child, and going through the Gate with you."

Daisuke thought about it a little. "That might have worked," he conceded.

"Would it? My Digivice is black. As soon as I held it up to the Gate to pretend to open it with you ..."

"Oh." Yes, Daisuke could imagine that might have raised some questions. "I see your point."

"It was too risky," said Ichijouji. He closed his eyes, letting Daisuke work on his hair.

"If I'd figured out who you were, I don't know what I would have done," said Daisuke. "Probably something violent."

"I wouldn't have minded if it meant going home."

Daisuke tried to imagine Ichijouji, in his non-Kaizer persona, just showing up one day with some kind of plausible lie about coming to the digital world, and trying to hitch a ride back home. Would it have worked? Daisuke could only wonder. He'd met the rest of his team back in the real world, after all; someone popping in from the digital side would have seemed strange to him. Gently, Daisuke freed the last of Ichijouji's hair from the tangle, and stroked his fingers through the freely-flowing strands. "When we get home," he said, "will we still be friends?"

Ichijouji paused, and asked, "Are we friends now?"

"I sure hope so." Daisuke didn't think he'd be doing all this sexual stuff with someone who wasn't at least a friend.

"Then I'm sure we will be." Ichijouji's sapphire eyes opened again, looking up at Daisuke with the color of hope. "Although my parents might not want to let me out of their sight for a while."

"I'll come visit, then," said Daisuke. "Or I'll visit you in reform school, or wherever they stick kids who run away for a year."

"I think I'd like reform school," said Ichijouji.

"Maybe not. You'd be in with the other juvenile delinquents."

"I don't think anyone is as delinquent as I am."

"Who knows, I might end up in there with you. I'm sure my parents are about ready to kill me when I finally get home."

Ichijouji sat up, shaking the water out of his hair. "That could be interesting." He stretched, the marks on his back rippling as the skin moved. "I think I'm going to get some sleep."

"Okay." Daisuke stood up and waded back toward the bank. "I'm still tying you up today."

Ichijouji sighed. "If you must."

"I don't trust you." Daisuke wiped his hands down his body, dashing off as much of the water as possible before dressing. "Veemon doesn't trust you. I think we have good reasons."

"I didn't call down those Flymon," said Ichijouji. He, too, waded out of the stream and began to get dressed. "I have no idea how you think I might have done it at all."

"You're a genius. I know you thought of something."

Ichijouji offered no further protests, and a few minutes later he stood quietly while Daisuke bound his wrists behind his back.

While Ichijouji slept, Daisuke checked his Digivice every few minutes to see if any Chosen were nearby. He'd long since lost track of what day was which, and his Digivice only told the time, not the date; was summer break over yet? If it wasn't, it must have been fairly close. It gave Daisuke a strange and painful pang to think of school starting back up without him. As little as he enjoyed the actual schooling part of school, he greatly enjoyed spending time with his friends.

With as long as he'd been absent from the real world, Daisuke was certain that his parents had come to some kind of conclusion about him, either that he'd run away or that he'd been kidnapped. Neither was completely inaccurate, he mused. He imagined his picture on posters around the prefecture, or shown in a missing-person news segment. It made him wistful, made him long for some punishment as prosaic as being grounded. Something other than being hunted in a dangerous foreign world.

Around mid-morning, Daisuke found himself re-reading those emails on his D-terminal. He wanted to respond, to explain himself. He wanted his friends to understand why he was out here, with the Digimon Kaizer, killing and enslaving Digimon. Would it really hurt to reply? They had Okuwamon now, and could be well gone by the time the other Chosen reached this place, a day's flight from the nearest Gate. He even started to type out an answer.

_Hikari-chan,_

_I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm going to just say it. I took Ichijouji out of Skip Phase because the Holy Beasts were torturing him. They'll probably do the same thing to me if they catch me. So you have to stop looking for us. If you catch us,_

He stuttered to a halt here, and closed his D-terminal without sending it. Why would Hikari believe him? He hadn't believed it himself until he'd seen evidence. Telling her that he was trapped in the digital world would be an even more incredible tale than a story about the Holy Beasts' cruelty. There was no reason for anyone to believe any of it.

* * *

That evening, as Okuwamon carried them north in the cold and dark sky, Ichijouji's Digivice suddenly began to loudly beep. The Kaizer pulled it out of his pocket, and then immediately ordered Okuwamon to turn east.

"What is it?" asked Daisuke, coming up to the Digimon's head alongside Ichijouji. He didn't dare stand up in the wind the way the Kaizer did, preferring to sit down where it felt less like he was going to be blown right off into the night.

"A Digimental," said Ichijouji, showing the Digivice screen to Daisuke. Indeed, there was a reaction there, a bright flash that, when Daisuke checked, wasn't reflected on his own Digivice.

"Why is yours seeing it and mine isn't?" asked Daisuke.

"No idea, but I want it."

Daisuke took Ichijouji's wrist and turned the black Digivice so he could read it properly. "This is a long way east," he said. It would be a much longer trip than the Gate that they didn't pursue, at least a day east, maybe longer.

"We need to go east eventually anyway," said Ichijouji. "I hadn't wanted to turn that way so soon, because of the crossroad towns, but it isn't really out of our way. And I'm not turning down a Digimental."

"Well ..." Daisuke wasn't sure he'd turn one down, either, so there wasn't much to say.

The great march of mountains, rising up from the earth like teeth, was behind them now, but the call of the Digimental turned their course sharply east. There, said the Kaizer, the mountain range bent north and became higher and more desolate, and it was there that the Digimental would be found. Daisuke wasn't anxious to return to the mountains, but neither was he willing to get into an argument about it. The fact that this Digimental showed up on only one Digivice meant something. Maybe it meant that, for some reason, this Digimental was intended for Ichijouji to use.

Daisuke brought up this idea about an hour into the new course, and Ichijouji was skeptical. "It's more likely something to do with the mods I've made to my Digivice," he said. "If the digital world intends something for me, it's not going to be something I like. It won't hand me power for free."

"Then maybe we should skip this," said Daisuke. "Leave it alone."

Ichijouji just shook his head, and there wasn't anything Daisuke could do.

Veemon came up onto Okuwamon's head with them, then, crouching like Daisuke. "What would you do with a Digimental but no partner, Digimon Kaizer?"

Ichijouji glanced Veemon's way, and said, "Who said I have no partner?"

"You said you sent him somewhere," said Daisuke thoughtfully. "Where?"

"Away," said Ichijouji. "I don't even know where. I told him I didn't need him to get captured and held against me. He didn't want to leave, but I convinced him."

"Not much of a partner, then," said Veemon. "I'd _never_ leave Daisuke, no matter what he said to me."

"Even if you were a liability to him?" asked Ichijouji. "Even if you could be used against him?"

Veemon hemmed. "No, not even then."

"Then you're not as good a partner as mine."

"I think he ran away from you," said Veemon. "Because you're a horrible Digimon Kaizer and you torture Digimon for fun."

"Yes, that must be it," said Ichijouji. "It can't possibly be that I sent him away for the exact reason I just gave you."

"Guys, don't fight," said Daisuke, although his mind was not on that, but on what he would do with Veemon if he thought Veemon were vulnerable. This might actually be a choice that he would be forced to make someday, so he felt obligated to think about it even though it bothered him quite a bit.

"I'm not fighting," said Veemon. "If I were, I'd be knocking him off this Digimon and maybe breaking that black Spiral while I was at it."

"Veemon," said Daisuke, warning in his tone, and Veemon grumbled.

Ichijouji did not rise to Veemon's bait, remaining silent after that. Daisuke eventually moved to sit next to Ichijouji's leg, where he could lean against the other boy's thigh and feel more secure with his arms around Ichijouji's calf. Ichijouji didn't comment on this, either, but presently Daisuke felt cautious fingers drift through his hair.

* * *

They didn't reach the mountains that night, and stopped for the day in the forested foothills. Ichijouji wanted to continue on with Raidramon, but Daisuke vetoed that; he hadn't expected the request, and Veemon hadn't rested while on Okuwamon's neck. Veemon assured Daisuke that he could do it, _if necessary,_ but Daisuke didn't think it was necessary, exactly. However long that Digimental had been hidden in the mountains, it wasn't going anywhere.

Daisuke, Veemon and Ichijouji ate the rest of the bean that had been stowed away in the satchel, and then Daisuke went searching for something to feed Flymon. It came in the form of a bush covered in berries that looked like silver screws, but tasted like chocolate. Daisuke ate a few himself while Ichijouji directed Flymon to otherwise strip the bush bare to replenish itself.

The thicket of chocolate-screw bushes grew at the edge of a clearing in the forest, and as the light grew stronger, Daisuke got a good look at Ichijouji for the first time since the day before. He was appalled. "You look awful," he said. He reached out to run the backs of his fingers down Ichijouji's pale cheek, reassuring himself that the boy in front of him was real and he really looked as ashen and downright sick as he did.

"I feel fine," said Ichijouji. He tolerated the touch but wouldn't look Daisuke's way. "I just need a little rest."

"All the more reason not to keep going on Raidramon," said Daisuke; he hadn't exactly been rethinking his decision, but this nevertheless reinforced it. He pulled out his Digivice and checked it, but saw nothing on the screen. The Digimental remained invisible to him.

They bedded down for the day a short way from the clearing, and Ichijouji sighed wearily when Daisuke proposed to bind him but didn't fight it. "I'm not going to do anything to Veemon," he said.

"I don't think Veemon believes that," said Daisuke. "And it's not that I think you'll do something to Veemon specifically. It's that I don't know _what_ you're capable of doing and I don't trust you."

Ichijouji carefully let himself lean sideways down to the ground once his wrists were bound. "I only let you do this so you'll feel better," he said.

"It makes me feel a lot better," said Daisuke. It also let Daisuke run his fingers through Ichijouji's hair with impunity, so he let himself do that.

Damn, but Ichijouji looked absolutely awful. It wasn't just his normal paleness; there was an almost gray hue under the surface of his skin, like he was seriously ill. The darkness of his hair possibly made him look even more sickly than he would have normally, but Daisuke had gotten used to looking at the Kaizer by this point, and he had changed radically for the worse in the last eighteen hours.

Daisuke had no idea what he would do if Ichijouji turned out to be coming down with something. They couldn't afford to stop again to let him convalesce a second time, and Ichijouji was intent on getting this Digimental in any case. Then they really needed to get underway again, north and east to the Kaizer's old stomping grounds. Daisuke gently fingered the Kaizer's hair, letting the loose spikes drape over his hand. Ichijouji's eyes, looking up at Daisuke, were inscrutable behind the dark glasses.

"I thought you wanted me to sleep," said Ichijouji eventually.

"You'd better not be sick." Daisuke knew the Kaizer was right, though, so he moved away to sit next to Veemon, putting Ichijouji out of reach.

Veemon leaned against Daisuke's leg, saying, "He doesn't smell sick."

"He'd better not _be_ sick."

"I can hear you," said Ichijouji. "I told you, I feel fine, I just need to rest a while. It's hard enough to sleep with my hands tied like this, so could you please be quiet?"

Daisuke hugged Veemon, and said, "You rest, too, buddy."

"All right. Wake me before too long, though."

"Don't worry, I'm tired, too. Noon, maybe."

Veemon retrieved one of the blankets for himself and made himself comfortable. "Thanks for not trusting the Kaizer," he said as he got himself settled on the leaf-strewn ground. "I feel a lot better with him tied up."

"I'm so happy that you're happy," said Ichijouji.

Daisuke spent the morning wondering what kind of Digimental was waiting for them in the mountains. All eight Crests were accounted-for in the Digimentals possessed by himself and his former team; could there be duplicates? A previously-unknown Crest? Something else? Despite what Ichijouji had said earlier about his modified Digivice, Daisuke thought that it might be something _intended_ for Ichijouji, which made him equal parts curious and apprehensive. Which Crest did Ichijouji best embody? Friendship? _Love?_ Daisuke could perhaps buy Knowledge, but nothing else seemed to fit the dangerous, embittered genius. Was there, for some reason, a Crest of Ruthlessness? Of Resentment?

Whatever it was, Daisuke thought they would be there before the end of the following night. Then his questions would be answered.

* * *

Ichijouji slept for pretty much the entire day, and he did look considerably better afterward; the waxy undertone to his complexion had mostly melted away, and there was some color in his skin. Daisuke and Veemon found another low-growing patch of brambles with some more conventional-looking berries on them, and after Veemon declared them safe the two children and two Digimon stuffed themselves on the sweet-and-sour fruits.

After eating, Ichijouji looked _much_ better, more like himself, and Daisuke decided that his weak appearance that morning had been a fluke of some kind. Ichijouji evolved up Okuwamon for the night's trip through the skies, and they loaded the blankets and satchel onto the Digimon for travel. Whatever had been wrong with Ichijouji was over and done, Daisuke thought.

The mountains loomed in the darkness, a sliver of waxing moon turning their snowy peaks into ethereal etchings colored with beaten silver. Daisuke watched them for a while, but couldn't get a sense that they were getting any closer, so he got a good seat on Okuwamon's neck with his back to the insect Digimon's carapace; with Veemon in front of him and resting against his chest, he tried to get in a little nap. He'd gotten only an afternoon of sleeping done that day, and in theory it should have been easy to drop back off to the hum of Okuwamon's wings, but he kept feeling like he was falling and catching himself.

After a while of trying to sleep and failing, Daisuke hugged Veemon and said, "What do you know about Digimentals, buddy?"

If Veemon had been napping, it wasn't apparent in the Digimon's voice when he replied. "Not a lot. They're ancient. Probably at least as old as the Holy Beasts, although I don't think the Holy Beasts made them. They're powerful, but you knew that."

"How are they able to help you evolve when you otherwise can't?"

"No idea," said Veemon.

"It's my Digivice that keeps all your Digimon from evolving," Ichijouji interjected. "The dark towers amplify the signal. I haven't been able to study a Digimental to see why a Digimon can evolve with one despite the signal, but my guess is that your Digimental either shields Veemon from it, or scrambles it somehow."

"Huh." Daisuke thought about that; Okuwamon must have been somehow exempt from the suppressive signal due to the Spiral. "Could you opt Veemon out of that signal, so he could evolve normally?"

"Probably," said Ichijouji. "Definitely if he had a Ring on, but maybe otherwise, too. I'll need my mainframe though."

"Don't even _think_ about coming at me with a Ring," said Veemon.

Ichijouji turned a bit, the wind catching his hair from behind and blowing it across his face. "I know you don't believe this," he said, "but I swear to you that I have no interest in putting a Ring _or_ a Spiral on Motomiya's Digimon."

"That doesn't mean you won't do it anyway," said Veemon.

Daisuke ran a hand over Veemon's head, and said, "What are we going to do when we get to your base?"

"See how much damage there is, fix what I can, replace what I have to replace."

"That's not what I mean," said Daisuke. "Will you still need Veemon and I?"

The thin moonlight frosted Ichijouji's glasses and the armor of his cloak, making him look somehow very remote. "Of course," said Ichijouji.

But Daisuke had his doubts about that. He was the controlling partner of this relationship right now, but once Ichijouji no longer relied upon him for protection and aid, that might change. Daisuke didn't know the specifics of how their relationship could change, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't like it.

The distant mountains were less distant now, and Ichijouji started to check his Digivice every few minutes, directing Okuwamon to change course sometimes according to whatever he saw there. Daisuke eventually went up to kneel on the big Digimon's head at Ichijouji's side, so he could see ahead, but it was so dark he could make out very few details of the ground.

"What are we looking for?" asked Daisuke.

"No idea," said Ichijouji. "Where did you find your Digimentals?"

"One was in a cave," said Daisuke, "and the other was just laying on the ground in a little crater no more than thirty centimeters deep. Miyako and Iori found their first ones in a sort of temple."

"So it could be anything," said Ichijouji.

Daisuke nodded. "We might not see anything at all until we're practically on top of it."

"We almost are." Ichijouji showed Daisuke his Digivice; the flashing light of the Digimental was almost at the center of the screen now. "It has to be right on that cliff face somewhere." He pointed toward the bare mountainside before them, so sheer only a mountain goat could possibly find purchase there.

They searched up and down the mountainside for an hour before they spotted it: a narrow crack in the stone, which turned out to be a cave of some kind leading into the rock. Ichijouji had Okuwamon hover at the entrance while he and Daisuke and Veemon hopped into the cave; then Okuwamon clung to the cliff face outside, awaiting their return.

The crack in the mountain was quite dark, and Daisuke opened his D-terminal to shed some light and let them pick their way through the blackness. The air was cold and still, the stone walls clammy, and their voices echoed when they spoke.

"Yeah," said Daisuke, "this is about the kind of place I'd expect a Digimental to be."

"So where is it?" Ichijouji checked his Digivice again, and then moved forward, deeper into the mountain.

"Probably at the back, wherever that is."

"What will it look like when we find it?"

"Depends on what Crest it's for. It'll be small enough to pick up easily, although whether you actually can pick it up depends on whether it's meant for you."

Ichijouji led the way through the passage, attention on his Digivice. Daisuke followed, with Veemon behind, until Veemon grabbed Daisuke by the back of the coat.

"Wait, Daisuke," said Veemon. "Digimon Kaizer, wait!"

Daisuke stopped. "What is it?"

But Veemon had no need to explain, because there were hollow steps on the stone in front of them, and then none other than Takeru and Pegasusmon came into the range of the light of Daisuke's D-terminal.

"Hi," said Takeru, standing next to Pegasusmon with his hand under his Digimon's chin.

Ichijouji took a step back and dropped his hand to his whip, but Daisuke didn't want to find out how this fight would turn out so he shoved the Kaizer behind him. Veemon quickly pushed his way in front of Daisuke, standing defensively between Daisuke and Takeru.

"Hey, hey," said Takeru, raising his hands. "I just want to talk."

"How did you find us?" demanded Daisuke. His heart was racing and his hands were shaking; this was his worst nightmare.

"There's a Digimental up here. I thought maybe you'd detect it and come looking for it."

"How do you know there's a Digimental?" asked Ichijouji. "Is it on your Digivice, too?"

Takeru's eyes flicked to Ichijouji, and then back to Daisuke. "Daisuke," he said. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting this Digimental," said Daisuke, "and then I'm leaving. And you're not following me." Daisuke had no idea how he'd ensure this, but he could feel his heartbeat in his throat and he knew there was no way he could let Takeru leave here to carry word back to the Holy Beasts.

"Your parents and your sister are losing their minds," said Takeru.

"... yeah," said Daisuke. "I bet they are."

"Why are you here, with the Digimon Kaizer of all people, instead of at home, where you belong?"

Daisuke didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything at first. He wanted to explain it, all of it, and find understanding in his friend. He wanted to be heard, to maybe be forgiven. But what could he say? He was standing here with the Digimon Kaizer, after all, standing in defense of a boy he knew to be a vicious monster.

After waiting a moment in silence, Takeru said, "Whatever he's done to make you help him ... just tell me, Daisuke. We can do something about it. I'm with you. I'm behind you, all the way."

"It's not that easy," said Daisuke.

"What isn't? What's happened with you?"

This was Daisuke's opportunity, his chance to explain himself for his friend. Yet the words stuck in his throat, and in a way he wasn't sure he ought to say any of them. What if Takeru _did_ believe him? Wouldn't the digital world reject Takeru just as it had rejected Daisuke, and Ichijouji before him? Could he do that to his friend?

"I can't explain it," said Daisuke eventually. "It's too complicated."

"Daisuke," said Takeru, a bit of condescension in his voice that somehow made it much easier for Daisuke to refuse.

"I mean it," said Daisuke. "I can't explain it to you. Now, you need to get out of our way, okay?"

Something closed off in Takeru's expression, something hard and unyielding. _"Our_ way," he said. "Somehow I don't think you mean you and Veemon."

"I mean all of us," said Daisuke. "We're going to get this Digimental, and then we're leaving here. You're not going to stop us."

"I won't let you stop us," said Veemon, fisting his claws.

Takeru nodded over his shoulder. "The Digimental is back there. Are you really going to fight me for it?"

"If I have to."

"Oh, Daisuke," said Takeru, and that hardness melted again for a moment. "I don't want to fight with you. I want you to come _home._ I want you to stop running from us, and come back with me. Why on earth can't you do that?"

"I want to," admitted Daisuke, softly. "I want to go home. I want to go home so badly, Takeru." The quiet ache inside him, that longing for home and hearth that had become dull over time, suddenly sharpened to an acute needle in his heart. It occurred to him that maybe he could make that happen without having to necessarily tell Takeru anything. He could just go with Takeru, have Takeru open the Gate and then ... use it. He'd never have to return to this awful place. He could just throw away his Digivice after that.

But what would happen to Ichijouji?

"You can," Takeru was saying. "I don't know what he's done to you, but I'm _here,_ Daisuke. I can help you."

"What would happen to the Kaizer?" asked Daisuke.

Takeru shrugged. "Nothing. He'd go back to Skip Phase, and then probably home, too, as soon as the Holy Beasts are done with whatever they need him for."

Daisuke probably could have negotiated this. It was likely that he could have bargained for Ichijouji to come through the Gate with them; in fact, Takeru probably would have tried to use one of the Gate shortcuts back to Skip Phase anyway. But the opportunity did not arise, because Ichijouji said flatly, "That's not happening," and threw his Spiral at Pegasusmon.

Daisuke had never seen a Digimon Ringed before, not where he could see it, other than the Gotsumon upon which the Kaizer had _calibrated_ the Spiral. Daisuke would have assumed that Ringing a Digimon was easy, given what Ichijouji had said about it not harming them, but this was _awful._ The Spiral half-untwisted by itself to wrap itself around Pegasusmon's throat, and Pegasusmon _shrieked_ and _bucked_ and then fell onto his side and _twisted_ on the ground with wings flailing and the _noises_ he made were going to haunt Daisuke's dreams.

Takeru screamed and fell onto his Digimon, trying to pull the Spiral off with muscle strength alone, but it was hopeless; the thing was firmly attached. The runes glowed with an unholy light as Pegasusmon was forcibly reprogrammed, the Digimon's body spasming and jerking this way and that. Daisuke just stood there in stunned silence, horrified by what was happening right in front of him and unable to look away or do anything about it. Takeru was saying things, yelling things, things Daisuke's shocked mind could not understand.

Then it was over, and Pegasusmon struggled to his feet, and his eyes flashed a hellish red as he knocked Takeru down with a toss of his head. "Pegasusmon," said Ichijouji, commanding. "Keep your partner here. We'll be back in a few minutes."

Pegasusmon obediently attacked Takeru, trying to bodily force Takeru against the wall of the cave and pin him there. Daisuke had no idea if this would succeed or not, and he was having trouble thinking about anything at all just now; it seemed like all he could do was stand and watch what was happening.

"Daisuke!" called Takeru, as Pegasusmon tried to beat him with his wings. "Daisuke, what are you _doing?"_

"Come," said Ichijouji, with a hand on Daisuke's shoulder. Daisuke moved where his companion nudged him, but he couldn't stop staring as Pegasusmon, who was easily the most gentle of the Chosen Digimon, tried to ram Takeru with his hindquarters.

"What have you done," Daisuke whispered.

"There isn't much time," said Ichijouji. "Let's get the Digimental and we'll talk about this later."

The Digimental. Yes, Daisuke remembered that now. The whole reason they were here, in this ... ambush, it turned out. There wasn't much more to the cave, as it happened, but the Digimental was nevertheless difficult to locate in the dark. Behind them, the sounds of scuffling, and the hard _clop_ of Pegasusmon's hooves on rock, echoed down the passageway.

"I can't believe you did that," said Daisuke, unable to concentrate on anything with his mind going back to Pegasusmon over and over.

"I do," said Veemon, but uncertainty stained his voice.

"Show your light over here," said Ichijouji, and Daisuke turned his D-terminal to shed its glow where indicated. The wan light made Ichijouji look like he was shaking. Something shone back there, like a thread of gold in the darkness.

Ichijouji had something under his hand, something black like the rock but with a tiny edge of gold. "Is this it?" he asked, and when Daisuke didn't answer, Ichijouji said again, "Motomiya. Is this it?"

"I don't know," said Daisuke. "How could you do that? To Pegasusmon? I can't believe you did that!" Some of the numbness was fading, leaving anger behind in its wake.

"I'm not going back to Skip Phase," said Ichijouji. Whatever he'd found, it had a regular geometric shape and was roughly the size a Digimental should be. He brushed it with his fingers a few times, and then picked it up; it rose up easily in his hand.

"I guess that's it," said Veemon unhappily.

"We can't keep Pegasusmon," said Daisuke.

"We'll talk about this later," said Ichijouji. He cradled the item – the Digimental – against himself, and passed Daisuke to return back down the passage.

Daisuke followed, about to make a new declaration of not keeping Pegasusmon, but he faltered when he saw Takeru held against the side of the passageway by Pegasusmon's body. Takeru would betray them in a moment, Daisuke knew. He would tell the other Chosen where they were, and probably also the Holy Beasts. He might even follow them on Pegasusmon if he had the use of his Digimon. They couldn't keep Pegasusmon _forever,_ Daisuke decided, but they had to keep him for a while at least.

Takeru was not-really-crying, pleading with his partner to come to his senses and not fighting the restraint anymore. Pegasusmon turned his head when Ichijouji came back into view with the light from Daisuke's D-terminal, but said nothing.

"I'm sorry, Takeru," said Daisuke. "I didn't want it to go down like this."

"Daisuke, what are you _doing?"_ cried Takeru again. "Why are you doing this with _him?"_

"I wish I could make you believe that I have good reasons."

Ichijouji had Pegasusmon move, and then Daisuke frisked Takeru until he found the other boy's Digivice and D-terminal. The D-terminal he left – so Takeru could email someone else to come rescue him from this high mountain deathtrap – but Daisuke pocketed the Digivice. Takeru barely resisted this, utterly defeated by the enslavement of Pegasusmon.

"You can't take it," said Takeru, but any thoughts he had about fighting for his Digivice were visibly erased when Pegasusmon raised a gold-shod hoof as though to brain his partner right there.

"Pegasusmon," said Ichijouji, "this way." The horse Digimon obediently trailed after its new master, but Daisuke lingered behind for a moment.

"I don't understand you anymore," said Takeru.

"I don't really understand myself. But I want you to believe that I have my reasons. Someday I want to explain them to you."

Outside, on the windswept mountainside, Okuwamon was carefully balanced on the cliff face so that his head was just level with the crack in the rock, so that Ichijouji could step from stone to Digimon with ease. Pegasusmon hovered nearby.

"This is not okay," said Veemon, at Daisuke's left hand, his voice low and for Daisuke only to hear.

"No," said Daisuke. "It's not okay at all. I'll do something, don't worry. Get onto Okuwamon. I'll talk to Ichijouji later."

"Okay." Veemon hopped onto the waiting Digimon and went back to its neck to cling to the mane.

Daisuke stepped onto Okuwamon's head, and Ichijouji immediately ordered the big Digimon to pull away from the cliff. Okuwamon lifted its elytra and spread its wings, and dropped away from the cliff with great care for its riders, cautious not to drop too far or rise too fast and dislodge anyone. Pegasusmon followed, swooping in flight.

This was a terrible development. Daisuke wasn't sure how he was going to solve this problem. Takeru would get rescued within a few days from the nearest Gate, but what was Daisuke to do with Pegasusmon? And how could he persuade Ichijouji to go along with whatever Daisuke decided?

Ichijouji stood on the great Digimon's head like before, with the wind in his hair and catching his cloak, but the pale moonlight washed him out, as though he'd come down with yesterday's illness again. And, when Daisuke looked back at the cliff they were leaving, he saw Takeru standing in the entrance to the crack, watching Ichijouji fly away with his Digimon.

Nothing was going right tonight. Daisuke huddled down on Okuwamon's head, as far out of the wind as he could get, and was miserable.


	7. Chapter 7

When the sun came up, they were over the spur of mountains and far to the east of Takeru's little ambush. They landed in a little meadow near the trees, Okuwamon crouching low so the humans and Veemon could dismount.

Ichijouji stumbled getting to the ground and went to his knees in the tall grass. Daisuke expected him to stand immediately back up, but he didn't. So Daisuke, concern pushing aside some of the anger he was nursing, went to help the other boy to his feet.

"Come on," he said, offering a hand. Ichijouji did not take it.

"I'm fine," said the dark-haired Kaizer.

"Nobody said you weren't," said Daisuke, although he was starting to wonder now.

Ichijouji struggled to his feet without assistance, still cradling the Digimental, and he looked frightful. Ashen, with bruises under his eyes and an almost chalky quality to his complexion. Daisuke dropped his hand, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"You look ..." he started to say.

"Probably pretty bad," said Ichijouji. "I don't feel that great, but I'll be okay after I get a little rest." He turned and raised his Digivice, and devolved Okuwamon. While light spun around the huge Digimon, Ichijouji went back down to his knees, literally collapsing right in front of Daisuke.

The boy hadn't looked this awful straight out of Skip Phase, when he was actively bleeding. "Are you bleeding again?" asked Daisuke, with no idea of when or how this might have happened.

"No," said Ichijouji, putting his free hand to the ground to steady himself. Daisuke pulled on his shoulder, trying to get him to rise, because this was almost terrifying. What if Ichijouji _died_ of whatever this was? What if Daisuke were left all alone in the digital world? He lacked Ichijouji's resources and resourcefulness, and the other Chosen no doubt hated him now with all the passion in their souls. There was no going back after stealing Pegasusmon.

"What's the matter?" asked Daisuke, after failing to get Ichijouji on his feet. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing some rest and food can't fix," said Ichijouji. He finally gave up and just rolled onto his side where he was, holding the Digimental on his belly. He might as well have been rolling directly into his grave for how he looked.

Daisuke went down to his knees next to the Kaizer, trying to get his companion to at least sit up. "We have to get under cover," said Daisuke. "You know they're going to be hot on our tails now." A light breeze sprang up and rustled the tall dry grass, running insubstantial fingers through Ichijouji's hair.

"Yes," said Ichijouji, struggling to sit up. Once he succeeded, Daisuke got behind him and took him under the arms to hoist him to his feet. "I can walk," he said once he was upright, although he swayed like a broken leaf and probably would have gone down if the breeze were stiffer.

"I doubt that."

But Ichijouji just summoned Pegasusmon to assist him, and staggered under the trees with one arm thrown over the armor that covered the Digimon's withers. The dry grass of the little meadow rose to the Kaizer's waist, and the human and Digimon left a sort of trail through it as they walked, which Daisuke didn't like. Even though Flymon flew above their heads now, as Okuwamon it had left a huge flattened area at the edge of the meadow. Depending on what kind of angle an onlooker got, it might be dead obvious from the air that something large had landed in this clearing and then walked out of it.

It couldn't be helped at this point, so Daisuke just hustled the Kaizer and Pegasusmon into the woods as expeditiously as possible. Under normal circumstances he might have wanted to use Raidramon to get as far away from this meadow as they could, but with Ichijouji looking like death itself this seemed unwise. So Daisuke circled the meadow, to ensure that they were not going in the same direction as the tracks, and moved the group for only about fifteen minutes until they were under a solid stand of ash trees. Once he called a halt, the Kaizer went down again under the weight of his weakness.

"Okay," said Daisuke, helping Ichijouji to lay down on a flat space between the great trees' roots. "What is wrong with you? I know you know. Are you sick? Are you hurt?"

"Neither," said Veemon. "I don't smell blood and he doesn't smell sick either." The small dragon had carried the blankets during the trek away from the meadow, and he dropped them now and sat down next to them.

"It's neither," said Ichijouji. "It's hard to explain." He looked up at Pegasusmon, standing over him now, and said thoughtfully, "I'm going to have to devolve him, but we'll never get him back into this form again."

"He can stay Pegasusmon indefinitely if he isn't worked hard," said Daisuke, not understanding. "It doesn't hurt him."

But Ichijouji shook his head and wearily lifted his Digivice; a moment later the horse Digimon flashed and devolved. Patamon rose up in flight from the spot and landed in a tree branch.

That was ... tactically, kind of stupid, and Daisuke knew the Kaizer wasn't stupid. So what was going on? "You need to level with me now," said Daisuke, crouching next to the supine Ichijouji. "What's wrong?"

Ichijouji sighed and closed his eyes. "I didn't think it would be this bad," he said. "I'm just so tired all the time. Two of them is too much for me."

Two of them. Daisuke frowned, fury rising as realization struck him like a wall. "It's those damned Spirals," he said. "They're doing something to you."

"There's no power for them here," said Ichijouji. "I had to power them differently from the Rings."

"You're powering them _yourself_ somehow." Daisuke would have punched the infuriating child if he didn't think that doing so would make Ichijouji literally break in two. "Okay, that settles it. We can't keep Patamon."

"It's fine when he's devolved," said Ichijouji. "It's fine when Flymon is devolved."

"We still can't keep him. If you can't evolve him without killing yourself, then there's no point."

Ichijouji slowly, painfully, sat up, the Digimental in his lap. "I'm not dying," he said. "I'm just tired."

Daisuke's D-terminal chimed in his pocket. Dreading what he was going to find, he pulled it out and opened it.

_Daisuke-kun,_

_What happened? My Digimental came back. Is Patamon all right?_

_Takeru_

"Oh," said Daisuke. "That's not too bad."

"What is it?" asked Ichijouji. Daisuke turned the D-terminal around so he could read it.

"I have to tell him what happened to Patamon," said Daisuke, starting to type out a reply. "He's going to go nuts if he doesn't know."

"No," said Ichijouji. "You can't email them. You'll be telling them where we are."

"Takeru already knows basically where we are. It's not like he's not going to tell them where we were three hours ago and which way we went."

_Takeru,_

_Patamon is fine. We devolved him, is all. I won't let the Kaizer harm him, so don't worry._

_Daisuke_

"Don't," said Ichijouji, putting a hand on Daisuke's. There was a frantic edge in his voice now. "You can't reply."

Daisuke hesitated before hitting the send button. This wasn't smart, he knew, but if Veemon had been stolen, he'd be beside himself with worry. He couldn't do that to Takeru, any more than he'd been able to leave Takeru to die with no way to contact the others. He and Takeru hadn't always gotten along perfectly, but they weren't enemies either.

But if the Kaizer was right – and Daisuke had no doubt that he was – this would be drawing a big X on the digital world with them in the crosshairs. He weighed the options ... and hit send.

"Motomiya," said Ichijouji, fear leaking from every syllable, but Daisuke didn't want to hear it.

"It's too late," said Daisuke. "It's done." He snapped his D-terminal closed, and tried to quell the sudden anxiety in his belly that told him he'd done a very stupid thing.

The open disbelief on Ichijouji's face was eloquent, and only reinforced Daisuke's anxiety. "No," said Ichijouji. "You didn't."

"It's done," said Daisuke again. "Now, do you think you could travel a little more if we put you on Raidramon?"

"Yes," said Ichijouji, and he struggled to stand. "I'll get the hell out of here on my own feet if I have to. I'm not going back to Skip Phase."

"How about you, Veemon?" asked Daisuke, pulling out his Digivice.

Veemon hopped up and said, "Sure! I can carry both of you as long as you need me to!"

"We're putting the Digimental in the satchel," Daisuke told Ichijouji. "No arguments, you need to hold onto me, not it."

With Ichijouji even weaker now than he was when this trip started, it was down to Daisuke to tie the baggage to Raidramon's armor and somehow load Ichijouji onto his back. Some aid in this unexpectedly came from Patamon, who tried to tug Ichijouji up onto the big Armor Digimon's back. Daisuke couldn't tell if the assistance helped or not, but it was disturbing to watch. Once Ichijouji was balanced, Patamon settled onto the Kaizer's head and clung there to his hair, his eyes glowing a sullen red.

Highly uneasy at that sight, Daisuke said, "We can't keep Patamon," as he swung himself up onto Raidramon in front of the Kaizer. Then his D-terminal chimed again, and he checked it.

_Daisuke-kun,_

_How can you tell me not to worry? The Digimon Kaizer took Patamon away! I still don't understand why you're doing any of this! Of course I'm going to worry!_

_Please talk to me. Whatever he's doing to you, I can help you. Please talk to me, Daisuke. Whatever you reasons are. You can tell me anything. I'll listen._

_Takeru_

Daisuke stared at the screen, a hard place tightening in his throat. He wanted so badly to explain, to have Takeru _help him_ with this terrible situation. He didn't _want_ to be on the run with the Digimon Kaizer, but neither was he going to tolerate either Ichijouji or himself going to face the Holy Beasts. "He's worried about Patamon," said Daisuke, as an afterthought. "He wants me to tell him what's going on. Ichijouji, _I_ want to tell him what's going on. But what if he has the same problem we have after I do?"

"I don't know what makes the digital world ... trap us," said Ichijouji. "Do you have to act to help me, or is just believing me enough? I don't know."

"I want to tell him," said Daisuke. "If he's stuck here, too, we'd have some help. If he isn't, maybe he'd take us back."

"He's your friend," said Ichijouji. "You know him better than I do."

_Takeru,_

_He isn't doing anything to me. I don't know if I can explain. I'll think about it. But I'm going to see if I can get him to release Patamon. I didn't know he was going to do that. If you hadn't threatened to take him back to Skip Phase I don't think he would have. I know you probably won't believe this, but the Holy Beasts cut him up pretty badly in Skip Phase. I don't want that happening again._

Daisuke re-read the email and chewed on the thumb of his glove as he considered whether to send it.

"I wish you'd stop emailing him," said Ichijouji softly. "Every time you do it, you're telling the Holy Beasts where we are."

"That's why we aren't underway yet. I want all the emails to come from right here." Daisuke resumed typing.

_He's just a normal kid, like us, in a bad situation and it's warped him. I wish I could tell you more but it might put you in danger, too. Please stop chasing us. And don't show these emails to the Holy Beasts._

_Daisuke_

Daisuke hit send, and stuffed the D-terminal back into his pocket. "All right, buddy," he said, patting Raidramon on the neck. "Let's get moving. Let's go north for a while."

"Right-o," said Raidramon, and he turned and began to lope north through the forest. The land here was very uneven, with sliding slopes down and then up and then down again, but the undergrowth was sparse, so Daisuke thought they should be able to make fairly good time. At least they'd be able to get out of the immediate danger zone. Daisuke put a hand on one of Raidramon's shoulder spikes to steady himself, and felt Ichijouji slump against his back as arms went around his waist.

Flymon followed them by flitting from tree trunk to tree trunk, an irregular _buzz_ -silence- _buzz_ -silence that Daisuke could tell was going to get very old very fast. They otherwise traveled in silence for probably half an hour, before Daisuke's D-terminal chimed again with an incoming email.

"I'm not replying to this one," he said, as he pulled the device out of his pocket. "So don't worry."

"I'm extremely worried," said Ichijouji, sounding very tired, "but there's nothing I can do, is there?"

_Daisuke-kun,_

_I don't know what you mean by saying the Holy Beasts "cut him up" in Skip Phase. You're not saying they hurt him, are you? I don't know what he told you, or what happened to him, but I know the Holy Beasts would never hurt him. If he told you something different, it has to be a lie._

_I'm really worried about Patamon. You have to do what you can to get him back to me. Please, Daisuke. I'd do the same for you if it were Veemon._

_Takeru_

Daisuke had Raidramon halt, and passed his D-terminal back to Ichijouji so he could read the exchange. "Check where Takeru sent the emails," said Daisuke.

Ichijouji fiddled with the computer for a few seconds, and said, "He's still in that cave. I guess your friends haven't gotten to him yet. Oh, look, he doesn't believe the Holy Beasts would slice a message into my back. What a surprise. I must have somehow done that to myself."

"We have to give him Patamon," said Daisuke. "Maybe not today or tomorrow, but sooner rather than later."

"Who are you giving me to, Daisuke?" asked Patamon suddenly.

It was a little shocking to hear Patamon speak, and Daisuke didn't find his voice in time so it was the Kaizer who replied. "No one," said Ichijouji. "You're my Digimon, and we'd never give you away to anyone." He passed the D-terminal back to Daisuke.

"That's good," said Patamon. "I don't want to leave you."

"You won't."

Daisuke put his D-terminal back into his pocket, saying, "That's pretty twisted, Ichijouji. Let's go, Raidramon."

"What's twisted? It's the same principle in the programming as having a Digimon partner." Ichijouji leaned against Daisuke's back again as Raidramon got underway once more. "Your partnership with Raidramon isn't much different."

Raidramon whuffed his disdain. "I am _way_ different from a Ringed Digimon," he said as he jogged down a precipitous grade accompanied by a slide of dead leaves and soil. "Don't even try to compare us."

"The Rings just replicate the partner bond," said Ichijouji. "With only a few differences. There's nothing twisted about it. Patamon and I are partners now. Aren't we, Patamon?"

Patamon giggled, and said, "That's right! Partners forever!"

"Hopefully not forever," muttered Daisuke. This was _really_ messed up. "So what about Takeru? Does Patamon even remember him?"

"Of course I remember Takeru," said Patamon.

"So how do you feel about Takeru?" asked Daisuke.

Patamon was a moment replying. Then he said, "He's a human, like you, Daisuke. I don't want to hurt humans. But he'd better not try to hurt Ken, or he'll answer to me!"

"Wow," said Raidramon, hopping over the dry culvert at the bottom of the grade, and then scrambling up the opposite slope. "Wow."

"We can't keep him," said Daisuke. "We'll talk about it more later, but we can't keep him."

Ichijouji didn't respond, and they returned to a slightly-uncomfortable silence, but for the _buzz_ of Flymon following them.

* * *

Daisuke told Raidramon to stop if he smelled something edible, with the result that, about two hours later, Raidramon shifted course to follow his nose toward what he said smelled like chocolate. Daisuke hoped it was another chocolate-screw bush, but that wasn't their luck.

A few minutes after changing course, they emerged into a narrow clearing with a spring in the center, but instead of water the spring was full of what looked like chocolate milk. Daisuke was very skeptical of this, thinking of the one time he left milk out on his desk at home and found it to be disgusting after a couple of days. However, Raidramon went directly up to the spring and lowered his head, drinking deeply of the spring's contents.

"How is it?" asked Daisuke.

"It's _great,"_ said Raidramon. He crouched so that Daisuke and Ichijouji could get off his back while he drank more from the spring. Ichijouji landed hard, but didn't fall over at least, after which he waved Flymon over to drink as well, and stood with a hand on a huge willow trunk to balance himself and Patamon resting on his head.

His appearance had noticeably improved over how he'd looked at dawn, good enough that Daisuke started to doubt his own memory of how dreadfully ... drained, the Kaizer had been. Daisuke tried the spring himself, and it tasted fresh, not cold the way milk should be, but not remotely spoiled either.

"The digital world is so weird," said Daisuke, as he cupped chocolate milk up to his mouth.

"How so?"

Daisuke eyed Ichijouji, and gestured at the spring. "You don't find this weird?"

"Not ... especially?" said Ichijouji, a question in his tone. He made no move toward the spring, staying where he among the willow's stooping branches.

"Raidramon," said Daisuke, "if I ever am in the digital world long enough that a chocolate milk spring doesn't seem strange at all anymore, I want you to kill me."

Lifting his head, Raidramon regarded Daisuke for a long moment before saying, "I can't tell if you're joking, so I'll just say that there's no way I'm killing you for any reason."

"I'm joking, I'm joking," said Daisuke, although he wasn't quite sure that he was. He really didn't want to get to a point where chocolate milk springs felt like a reasonable thing to find in the forest.

After he'd finished drinking his fill, he wiped his hand on his pants and put his glove back on, and pulled out Takeru's Digivice to examine. It was still white-and-green, not black like Daisuke's, and Daisuke wondered if that would change. He wasn't entirely sure why he'd snagged it from Takeru; he'd switched it off after stealing it, but he was sure it would come back on as soon as he hit the power button. Maybe it would work for him in all ways, and open a Gate.

Ichijouji eventually moved to kneel next to the spring to drink himself, but when he was finished he said, "This doesn't constitute food, you know."

"Where there's chocolate water, there have to be chocolate fish," said Raidramon. "I mean, ideally, that would be the case." He waded a little way into the spring and began to paw around, testing for what else it might contain.

"I don't know if I want to find out what chocolate fish would taste like," said Ichijouji. He looked up at Daisuke, Patamon still clinging to his hair. "Are we staying here today, then? Or continuing on?"

Daisuke wasn't sure yet, so he didn't reply. Instead he held out Takeru's Digivice and said, "What do you think we should do with this?"

Ichijouji frowned and didn't take it. "I think we should keep it, of course. What do you expect me to say?"

"Do you think it will open a Gate for us?"

"I'm pretty sure it's not the Digivice that opens the Gate. I think it's the digital world. If it were the other way around, I'd be able to mod my Digivice to make it work on the Gates again."

"Oh." Daisuke put the stolen Digivice back into his pocket. "I still want to try it."

"That's fine. I hope I'm wrong."

Raidramon suddenly reared up and called, _"Lightning Blade,"_ and shot a bolt of electricity into the spring. Several smallish fish floated to the surface, stunned by the shock, and Raidramon started to pick them up in his jaws and flip them onto the shore. "You see?" said the Digimon. "Chocolate fish!"

To Daisuke they looked like the ordinary type of fish, although how any fish could live in an environment of chocolate milk was not a question he really wanted answered right now. After Raidramon waded back out of the spring, Daisuke got the knife out of the packs strapped to the Armor Digimon's back and started to kill and clean the fish.

Raidramon laid down under the arching willow with his hindquarters turned to the side, like a great cat, and watched the proceedings. "I'm not like a Ringed Digimon," he said, out of nowhere.

"Nobody said you were, buddy," said Daisuke.

"The Kaizer did."

"Well, you know how he is. He says stuff sometimes."

"Hmmm." Raidramon sounded disgruntled. "He lies a lot. He was lying about that, I know it. I just want it established here that I'm nothing like a Ringed Digimon."

Daisuke finished cleaning one of the fish and tossed it to Raidramon to eat; Raidramon caught it out of the air and swallowed it whole. "You don't need to convince me," said Daisuke.

Ichijouji said nothing about this. Patamon eventually fluttered down to the ground to drink from the spring, and he didn't offer any opinions on it either.

The fish, when Daisuke tried a piece, tasted pretty conventional, and not remotely chocolatey. It didn't go very well with the chocolate milk out of the spring, but Daisuke wasn't going to be choosy. He parceled out the fish as he cleaned them, making sure that all the Digimon ate and that the Kaizer ate as much as possible as well. That meant there wasn't much left for Daisuke, but Daisuke thought that was acceptable. Of all of them, he was the most expendable when it came to going hungry.

"I think we'll keep going for a while longer," he said after the fish was gone. "Stop at noonish. You," he leveled a finger at Ichijouji, "need to sleep as much as you can while we're moving."

"I can try," said Ichijouji.

"You can do better than try. I don't want you to die of this Spiral thing you've done to yourself."

Ichijouji frowned. "It's not going to kill me," he said.

"Yeah? Well, I don't know that."

"I do know that, and it won't kill me. I designed them, and I didn't do it as a form of suicide." The leaves above them rustled in the wind.

"I doubt you'd do it purposefully," said Daisuke sourly, "but you might on accident. You didn't think two of them would hurt you, did you? But they are."

"A minor miscalculation," said Ichijouji, to which Daisuke snorted in disbelief.

"A minor miscalculation _that might kill you,"_ said Daisuke.

"Nonsense. I wasn't counting on having to keep two Digimon evolved at once. But there's no need to Digivolve Patamon unless there's trouble, and there won't be trouble if you stop emailing your friends and telling them where we are."

That _had_ been somewhat stupid, and Daisuke didn't like to be reminded of it. So, in anger, because of this and because Ichijouji was still doing things without _telling_ Daisuke anything - doing just whatever he liked no matter how dangerous or ill-advised it was - Daisuke walked over to the slender, pallid boy by the willow tree, with some kind of vague but violent impulse. He changed his intention when he realized at the last second that Patamon might not take kindly to Daisuke punching the Kaizer in the face, so he instead shoved Ichijouji hard against the willow trunk and forced him into a rough kiss.

Ichijouji didn't resist in any way; although he stiffened at first, he relaxed a moment later and parted his lips for Daisuke's tongue with no prompting. Patamon, startled, flew up to the tree's branches while the wind picked up and Daisuke buried his fingers into Ichijouji's wild hair. Ichijouji rested his hands on Daisuke's hips, which felt like welcome, like he wanted to be kissed. It made Daisuke growl, made him clench his hands to tug the Kaizer's hair, made him shift his hips to pin Ichijouji against the tree with his body. Ichijouji gasped a soft sound of pain into Daisuke's mouth, but did nothing to stop it.

What started violently, however, did not end that way. As Daisuke kissed Ichijouji, the urge to hurt him receded, and Daisuke released the grip he had on the other boy's hair. Ichijouji simply felt good, snugged up against Daisuke's body, and he tasted interesting, and the slip of his tongue against Daisuke's was incredible. There was a strength to his body against Daisuke's that belied how thin and ill he was, and he was so beautiful.

Once he was allowed, Ichijouji turned his head a bit to break the kiss, and whispered, "We should keep going."

Daisuke kissed wetly down Ichijouji's jaw toward his ear. "Yes, we should." He could feel the Kaizer's glasses against his cheek.

Ichijouji shifted a bit, as though thinking of trying to escape. The motion rubbed his groin against Daisuke's, which made Daisuke cry out softly, because he was very aroused now and he could feel that Ichijouji was as well. "Are you really going to do this now?" asked Ichijouji, with a touch of strain in his voice.

"Maybe." Daisuke wanted to. Maybe that was reason enough.

"With all these Digimon watching?"

Well. That made Daisuke think a little. Raidramon didn't care. Flymon wasn't intelligent enough to care. But Patamon ...

Daisuke looked up at Patamon, who was perched in the willow branches above their heads. The little Digimon didn't seem upset by the way Daisuke was treating the person he thought of as a partner; the expression on his face was one of confusion. So Daisuke stopped caring about Patamon, too. "The Digimon don't matter," he said, unclasping Ichijouji's cloak at his throat.

"Not even Patamon? You want me to let him go. Do you want him reporting back that you ... what you're doing right now?"

This was like Ichijouji didn't want to kiss or do anything sexual, and was trying to talk Daisuke out of it. But he wasn't trying to stop Daisuke, and he had an erection so ... that made no sense. It was a good point about Patamon, though, so Daisuke reluctantly released Ichijouji, eyeing the little Digimon up in the tree. _"You_ don't want to let Patamon go," said Daisuke.

"Not until we're safe," said Ichijouji, fastening his cloak. "Maybe after that."

"Liar," said Daisuke, but this wasn't the time to have this argument so he ended it at that.

Well, now Daisuke was aroused and annoyed, but there was nothing to be done about it. He got back up on Raidramon and gave the Kaizer a hand up, then they continued on the way they'd been headed before.

Before long, the land leveled out, and they came into a section of the forest where the trees were all marked with road signs. It was queerly quiet here, with no sound of birds or insects, nothing but the soft rustle of Raidramon's footsteps in the forest litter, the creak of tree branches in the wind, and the _buzz_ of Flymon behind. Daisuke called a halt about an hour into the area, thinking that if anything came after them, the silence would be helpful to hear it coming. Daisuke told the Digimon to get some sleep, but Flymon and Patamon looked to the Kaizer for instruction before they would settle.

"You, too," Daisuke told Ichijouji. "I'll keep watch. You need as much rest as you can get."

Ichijouji looked at Daisuke for a moment, and then said, "Are you going to tie me up again?"

Daisuke knew he should. There was no telling what the Kaizer might do if he didn't. But ... Ichijouji looked so haggard, so weak, that maybe it wasn't necessary. Besides which ... he wasn't sure he'd be able to resist touching Ichijouji if he were helpless. His arousal had departed, but it wasn't deeply buried. "Not today," said Daisuke.

"Hmmm." Ichijouji sat down with one of the blankets, then lay down with his head on the exposed roots at the base of a tree. Patamon flew down to the ground and moved to nestle in Ichijouji's arms, the black Spiral wrapped around his forequarters like a disease. Daisuke hated looking at it, hated knowing what it had done to his friend's Digimon. The memory of Pegasusmon physically attacking Takeru made him cringe.

Ichijouji held Patamon close, and said, "I'm everything you think I am, Motomiya."

"I know that," said Daisuke.

"Veemon was right. I called those Flymon. I was looking for Airdramon but there weren't any nearby. I thought the Flymon would probably find us anyway as we tried to cross the mountain, so I made sure they did it when I was ready for them."

Daisuke turned to find that Ichijouji was watching him warily, eyes dark behind the tinted glasses. "Why are you telling me this now?" asked Daisuke.

"Because I shouldn't have lied to you. I want you to trust me."

_Trust_ him. Daisuke almost laughed. The wind brushed through the trees like a great hand. "Why would I trust you?" asked Daisuke.

"Because I've never lied to you, except for that. I only lied then because I wasn't sure how you'd react if I told you the truth. Everything else has been true."

"Even that's a lie," said Veemon suddenly. "You're a lying Digimon Kaizer, and everything out of your mouth is a lie."

"You take that back," said Patamon. "Ken isn't a liar."

"Oh, he's _Ken_ now," said Veemon. "You wouldn't say that if you didn't have that stupid Spiral on you."

Patamon bristled, until Ichijouji ran a hand over his back. "Don't fight," said Ichijouji gently.

"Yeah," said Veemon. "Listen to your owner, slave to the Digimon Kaizer."

"Veemon," said Daisuke. "Don't, okay?"

Veemon huffed, and got up to turn his back on the rest of the group, arms crossed, but he said nothing more. Patamon tried to burrow into Ichijouji's chest.

"That's not true," said Patamon, sounding distressed. "You're not a liar and I'm not a slave."

"It's not true," agreed Ichijouji, petting Patamon soothingly. "We're partners."

It was nauseating. Daisuke was literally nauseated, watching Ichijouji interact with his stolen Digimon. Ichijouji touched Patamon the way one might touch a stray dog, not with the kind of cuddling affection that Takeru lavished on his partner, and which Patamon was clearly soliciting. Eventually Patamon made himself comfortable with the Kaizer's hand on his head, and folded his wings to rest.

"That is so gross," said Veemon very quietly, having come to Daisuke to watch alongside him.

"Yeah," said Daisuke.

* * *

Mid-afternoon, just when Daisuke was waking Veemon to take the second watch, it began to rain. The rain came softly at first, pattering in the upper tree canopy, barely a drop reaching the ground. Over the course of fifteen minutes, however, the soft pattering grew harder, and more wet drops splattered among the sleepers under the trees. Ichijouji and Patamon woke first, with Flymon rousing soon after, as they were splashed by rain.

Daisuke gradually realized that this rain was here to stay, and he probably wouldn't be getting much sleep himself this afternoon. It exhausted him just thinking about moving on without resting, but he wasn't going to be able to sleep on wet ground with fat water drops coming down on him from the leaves above, so there was no point trying. If he wasn't going to sleep, then they might as well get a move on, so he evolved up Veemon to Raidramon and they were underway again within a few minutes.

"Good thing all the Digimon got some rest," said Daisuke, as Raidramon loped through the rain dripping from the trees.

"We'll get in the air as soon as it's dark," said Ichijouji. "You can sleep then, if you can."

"It's hard to sleep on Okuwamon," said Daisuke. "It feels like I'm about to fall off him."

"I can hold you," said Raidramon. "Just let me be Flamedramon while we're up there."

Daisuke thought maybe that would work, and it was comforting to know that he could probably get some sleep later on. The rain, however, was gradually soaking his clothing, which wasn't comforting at all. Eventually he was wet all the way through, except where the Kaizer leaned against his back, and water dripped from his hair.

The forest was dismal now, with very little light filtering down from the overcast sky through the tree branches. The rain grew colder, and soon Ichijouji moved forward on Raidramon's back, until he was hugged tightly against Daisuke's back; that was the only warmth Daisuke could feel. Even his gloves were soaked through, and his fingers chilled. Daisuke was _not_ looking forward to getting into the air, where it would be colder yet.

Somewhat abruptly, they reached the end of the trees, and Raidramon trotted to a halt at the edge of a dark, rainy meadow. Daisuke leaned forward and could see that the meadow didn't really stop; it seemed that they'd arrived at the plains. The rain came down harder here with no tree branches to moderate the fall, streaking down out of the gray evening sky with considerable force. The sun was clearly still up, somewhere behind the overcast sky, but the clouds turned the light murky.

"Damn," said Daisuke. "Okay, Raidramon, east it is."

"Wait," said Ichijouji, and a moment later he swung down off Raidramon's back. "This is good weather to come out of the forest. Nobody will be following us tonight."

A shiver ran up Daisuke's spine with Ichijouji no longer there to keep his back warm and dry. "I don't think Raidramon can run much longer without a solid rest and more food."

"I can continue," said Raidramon. "Food would be nice, though."

"I'll evolve up Flymon," said Ichijouji. "We'll keep going in the air."

"In _this_ weather?" said Daisuke, incredulous. "You want to _fly_ in this kind of weather?"

"I've flown Digimon in worse," said Ichijouji. "It'll be fine."

Daisuke just stared at him in the pouring rain; water ran down Ichijouji's face and glasses, and flattened his hair. Patamon looked absolutely miserable. This was insane, and it was insane that Daisuke was even considering going along with it. "There's no way we can fly in this," said Daisuke.

"Believe me, we can. And we should. Nobody will expect it."

"Including me." But Daisuke dismounted anyway. "If the rain gets any worse, we land," he said.

"Deal," said Ichijouji, and he moved to untie the packs from Raidramon's armor.

This would be dangerous. If Daisuke had been the hunter, he'd be waiting for his prey to leave the great forest. The Holy Beasts had to know generally where they were headed, so someone was likely to be waiting for them out there. Airdramon, perhaps, or Devidramon, would be Daisuke's choice of ambush. "This is going to suck," said Daisuke.

The laptop was getting wet, the blanket in which it was wrapped being absolutely soaked by this point, and there was no way to avoid that. Maybe it was okay that the thing was already broken. Lightning crawled through the sky overhead, followed by a slow roll of thunder.

_"Flymon, Dark Digivolve to ... Okuwamon!"_ The enslaved Digimon's evolution was concealed by the brilliant silver light that enveloped it, which Daisuke hoped was adequately shielded by the edge of the woods. Once Okuwamon crouched to accept riders, Daisuke helped Veemon secure the blankets and satchel to the creature's head, while the Kaizer hopped up onto the Digimon and walked forward to its forehead. The rain lashed him, making his sodden cloak hang limp, but the rain didn't seem to matter to Ichijouji.

"Daisuke," said Veemon. "Do you want me to be Flamedramon?"

Daisuke shook his head. "You need to rest some, too, buddy," he said. "We'll manage somehow."

Veemon frowned, but didn't argue. He crawled back into the wet mess that was Okuwamon's mane, where Daisuke planned to join him shortly. For the moment, however, Daisuke went up onto Okuwamon's head with Ichijouji.

"Okuwamon," said Ichijouji. "Fly north." The great Digimon spread its wings, and leapt heavily into the rainy sky. Daisuke went down to his knees, intimidated by the rain and the wind and the sudden distance between himself and the ground.

"Ichijouji," said Daisuke. "Are you going to be okay? It's cold."

"I've had worse," said Ichijouji. He held Patamon in his arms, the small Digimon shivering in the darkness.

"Not when you had a Spiral slowly killing you," said Daisuke.

"It's not killing me. Go back and get some sleep if you can. I'll be fine until morning. Then we'll have to continue on Raidramon, if possible."

Okuwamon continued to climb into the night, getting dangerously close to the lightning that flashed between the clouds, or such was Daisuke's reckoning anyway. Daisuke had to hope that Ichijouji was right, because there was little to nothing he could do to make the other boy listen to him now that they were in the air. So he crept back along Okuwamon's neck, until he could straddle the beast's spine – or what passed for it - and maybe rest there.

"Are you okay, Daisuke?" asked Veemon.

"Yeah," said Daisuke. "You should sleep." He leaned back against the beast's carapace and pulled Veemon into a hug against the front of his body, hoping to keep the little Digimon warm that way. "I'll hold onto you and make sure you don't fall off."

"I thought we were doing this the other way around, so _you_ could rest," said Veemon.

"It's more important that you sleep as much as you can. You'll be running in the morning if all goes well."

"I hope we find something else to eat," said Veemon, snuggling back in Daisuke's arms. "I'm already hungry."

"Me, too." The forests were always full of food, but the same could not be said of other parts of the digital world. "We should come across some settlements and try to get something there." Which would mean deception or violence, neither of which was something to look forward to.

Veemon was silent about this for a long time, and eventually Daisuke decided that the small dragon had probably gone to sleep. Daisuke wished he could do the same.

They flew for the rest of the night without event. The rain presently began to slack, not that it helped because Daisuke was already as wet as he could get, but it made him feel better that it wasn't getting worse at least. Veemon was warm against his chest and belly, and a time or two he got close to napping off but that falling sensation jerked him awake each time. The Kaizer remained on Okuwamon's head, standing imperiously against the wind, but in the irregular flashes of lightning he looked deathly pale. Daisuke hoped it was just the chill, but he knew deep inside that it wasn't.

The dawn brought a cold gray light to the world, breaking silently behind the clouds, and a further lightening of the rainfall. It also brought something else; Daisuke became aware, in his half-doze, that Ichijouji was speaking and pointing off to the east, and when he looked Daisuke could see an Airdramon off in that direction.

Adrenaline erased every trace of weariness from Daisuke's body and mind. It was impossible that the thing hadn't spotted them. The cold chill in the air gripped Daisuke by the heart and throttled him as he watched the sinuous motions of the gaudy Digimon moving through the haze of light rain. It had spotted them, it must have, and now it was going to report back to the Holy Beasts as to their location, and Okuwamon had to be tired by this point so their escape options would be limited.

Ichijouji walked back along Okuwamon's neck and crouched next to Daisuke. "I don't think it knows who we are," he said, "but we're going to have to land soon and swap mounts, and then who knows." His voice was strained, and very quiet.

"What makes you think that?" asked Daisuke. "That it doesn't know us?"

"It isn't coming closer and hasn't moved off. If it's part of the search crew and it knows who we are, it would go off to report."

True. Daisuke struggled to stand up; he'd been in the same position long enough for all his joints to go stiff. Veemon was awake again by now, and he moved a little to give Daisuke room to stretch and rise. As before, however, Daisuke didn't feel safe standing up on the flying Digimon, and remained on his knees next to the Kaizer.

"We'll have to kill it," said Daisuke. "We'll have to draw it closer and kill it."

"Or Ring it," said Ichijouji.

"Or ... Ring it," said Daisuke, realizing that this would solve multiple problems at once. "That sounds like a great idea, Ichijouji. Why don't you take that Spiral off Patamon right now and get it ready?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Ichijouji still had Patamon in his arms, but the small Digimon was awake and alert. He stroked Patamon's head and back, folding the small orange wings flat under his hand.

"We'll tell Patamon where to find Takeru and it'll be a week or more before he gets there," said Daisuke. "He doesn't move very fast. We have a better use for that Spiral now."

Ichijouji just petted his stolen Digimon for a moment, before saying, "I wonder what Patamon Digivolves into?"

"Oh," said Patamon with a giggle. "I become Angemon!"

"Ahhh," said Ichijouji. "That sounds useful."

"Not as useful as an Airdramon," said Daisuke.

Ichijouji was clearly thinking it over, his hand moving over Patamon's head and back. Daisuke wondered what else he could say to make the decision to free Patamon easier. "You know this is the best way," said Daisuke eventually. "If we get that Airdramon ..."

_"If_ we get the Airdramon," said Ichijouji. "The Spiral is self-guiding, but we still need to get close enough to use it."

"We have to do something about that Airdramon anyway, and this is better than killing it."

Ichijouji thought it over a little longer, and then he set Patamon down on Okuwamon's mane. "Patamon," he said. "Can you bring me that Airdramon?"

"Absolutely!" Patamon hopped excitedly.

"We're going to land," said Ichijouji, raising his Digivice. "Bring that Airdramon to us. Patamon, Dark Digivolve!"

_"Patamon, Dark Digivolve to ... Angemon!"_

Daisuke hugged Veemon as a massive humanoid figure emerged from the silver evolution light, crouching on Okuwamon's neck. It was angelic ... in a sinister kind of way, being lanky with ropey muscles, and six tattered gray wings. The steel mask that half-covered the Digimon's face was edged with rust, and the dark gray breechcloth that clothed its lower body was marked with red digital runes. It had no visible eyes under the half-mask, but Daisuke knew they'd be glowing as red as Patamon's. It was horrific.

"I'll bring that Airdramon to you," said Angemon, and he leapt from Okuwamon with such force that the great insect lost a touch of altitude. Ichijouji directed Okuwamon toward the ground.

Angemon closed the distance between Okuwamon and Airdramon quickly, flying faster than Daisuke would have expected. Airdramon noticed immediately, but to Daisuke it didn't look alarmed in the slightest; it wended its way closer but looked to be in no hurry, and didn't try to attack. Angemon was not so accommodating.

The fight was difficult to follow through the distance and the rain. Bright flashes obscured the action for a minute or so, and then Angemon somehow got his arms around one of Airdramon's horns. Airdramon writhed in the air, twisting and rubbing his body against his head to try to dislodge the angel Digimon, but something was clearly wrong with the way he flapped his right wing. Although Airdramon was many times larger than Angemon, it seemed that Angemon had injured the winged serpent, and was successfully dragging Airdramon down.

Okuwamon alighted on the ground, the land as flat as the eye could see through the rain. Daisuke expected Ichijouji to devolve Okuwamon at this point, since the Spiral was so dangerous, but Ichijouji just jumped to the muddy ground ... and fell directly to his knees.

"Dammit," said Daisuke, as he and Veemon hopped down as well. He should have kept a closer watch on Ichijouji, and insisted that they devolve Okuwamon long before things reached the "unable to stand independently" point.

While Veemon watched the fight going on in the sky, Daisuke tried to get Ichijouji back up. Ichijouji was heavier than he looked, however, and he was obviously on his last ounce of energy because his breathing was labored and his skin was deathly sallow. Daisuke swore again, cursing himself more than Ichijouji.

"Here," said Daisuke, helping Ichijouji lean against Okuwamon's foreleg, sitting upright at least if he couldn't stand. Ichijouji raised his face to the rain, seeming to swallow the air more than breathe it, and the water streamed down his hair and across his face. The chill couldn't be helping anything, but Daisuke was certain that it wasn't really the problem.

Together they watched Airdramon and Angemon struggle in the sky. Another bright flash of light pounded Airdramon's injured wing, and the larger Digimon shrieked and lost some altitude. Ichijouji said, "Help me up."

"You sure?" asked Daisuke. "Can you do it?"

"Yes."

So Daisuke helped Ichijouji struggle to his feet, but Ichijouji swayed when Daisuke let him go, so Daisuke decided to stand there so his companion could lean against his shoulder to stay upright. Shortly thereafter, Airdramon thudded to the ground, with Angemon atop him, and Ichijouji ordered Okuwamon to take the great serpent into its deadly claws to hold him. Okuwamon obeyed silently, gripping Airdramon's body in one claw and his horned head in the other.

"The Digimon Kaizer," said Airdramon, voice deep and scornful. He wound his tail around the tight grip Okuwamon kept on his body. "I might have known."

"Yes, you might have," said Ichijouji agreeably. He gestured with his Digivice, and Angemon promptly devolved and came fluttering over as Patamon to land on his head.

"How dare you enslave Angemon?" boomed Airdramon, writhing in a futile attempt to escape the more powerful Digimon holding him. "Have you no respect for what's holy? Have you no decency at all?"

"Well," said Ichijouji, and he took off his glasses for a moment to wipe rain away from his face. He looked _ghastly,_ drawn and wasted and so white. "As it happens, I might be freeing Patamon here shortly, so you should be happy about that. You'd be happy if I did that, right?"

Airdramon's eyes rolled to get a better look at Ichijouji, and he said, "You don't look well." Was there a hint of concern in his voice? Daisuke wasn't certain, but it sort of sounded that way, and that was incredibly weird.

"You really don't," said Patamon, and the small Digimon definitely sounded worried.

"I'm well enough," said Ichijouji.

"I wish I believed that," said Daisuke quietly. He felt like he was taking most of Ichijouji's weight on his shoulder to keep the other boy on his feet.

Airdramon roared, but could not free himself. Okuwamon was like a statue, unmoved by the brightly-colored Digimon's struggles. Airdramon soon gave up and fixed his eyes back onto Ichijouji. "Very well. What are your terms for Patamon's freedom, Digimon Kaizer?"

"This isn't a negotiation," said Ichijouji. "There are no terms. I need an Airdramon and it looks like you've unwittingly volunteered."

"Are you working for the Holy Beasts?" asked Daisuke suddenly, because he needed to know.

Airdramon's eyes rolled toward Daisuke, and he was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "You're the Chosen Child the Kaizer has deceived."

That was a yes, then. Daisuke said, "Ichijouji, you have to do this. You have to let Patamon go."

"Let me go where?" asked Patamon.

"I know," said Ichijouji. He leaned more heavily against Daisuke as he reached up to take Patamon down from his head.

"Where am I going?" asked Patamon again.

Ichijouji raised Patamon to look him in the face, and then hugged him close. "Don't worry," he said, and he touched the Spiral in some manner that made it release the small orange Digimon, unwrapping itself and re-collapsing into a sinister black spring.

Although Ringing Patamon had been unbelievably traumatic, the reverse was not the case; Patamon's eyes simply cleared, and an instant later he was struggling to be released. "Let me go!" he squealed, and Ichijouji immediately let him go.

"Run away, little Patamon," said the Kaizer. "Motomiya has interceded for you. Tell your partner whatever you like. None of it will matter anyway."

"Daisuke!" cried Patamon, fluttering in the rain well out of reach, but when Daisuke looked up at him the small Digimon seemed unsure of what he wanted to say. After a moment, Patamon moved toward Veemon instead, saying, "Veemon, what's happening?"

"You know, I have no idea," said Veemon. "For some reason we're helping the Digimon Kaizer, so the Holy Beasts won't torture him anymore? There's some kind of problem with the Gates? It's all really complicated."

"Go, before I change my mind," said Ichijouji, and Patamon squeaked and instantly began to fly away toward the mountains to the south at what passed for his top speed.

"I'll come back for you, Veemon and Daisuke!" called Patamon as he left.

"Don't bother!" called Daisuke back. "In fact, never try to come back for us!" Then he lowered his voice so only Ichijouji could hear. "Thanks," he said, relieved that one problem, at least, was resolved.

"Hmph," said Airdramon. "The Holy Beasts, torturing humans. Phaw. If I believed it, I'd believe that you, of all humans, deserved it, Digimon Kaizer."

"Believe what you like," said Ichijouji, holding up the black Spiral. He shook Daisuke off him, and managed to stand on his own and even take a few steps toward Airdramon.

"You're clearly not well," said Airdramon. He squirmed, trying to free himself, and was again unsuccessful. "The life of a tyrant doesn't seem to agree with you."

"I'll be better soon," said Ichijouji. "You can help with that, actually." He threw the Spiral at Airdramon.

"You'll not enslave me!" roared Airdramon, but an instant later the Spiral caught him by the tail and bit down into his programming, and he screamed. His struggles against Okuwamon's hold became frantic, almost mindlessly panicked, like the squirming of a worm pierced by a hook, and at that point Daisuke had to turn his back because it was too horrible to watch.

There was a wet thud behind him, and Daisuke turned to find that Ichijouji had gone to his knees again. Daisuke went to try to help him back up, but Ichijouji waved him off, panting on the ground.

"I'll stay down here a minute," said the Kaizer, sounding out of breath, as though he had run a great distance. "I'm ... not feeling very well."

"You look like you're dying," said Daisuke. "You _are_ dying, aren't you?" That was a terrifying thought, actually, and a wound opened up in Daisuke's chest at the very notion.

"I'm not," said Ichijouji. "I'm just ... tired."

"You can't do this to yourself," said Daisuke. "You can't do this anymore!"

"It'll be easier with Airdramon," said Ichijouji.

Airdramon's shrieking abruptly ceased, and Daisuke turned to see the creature relax, his body falling out of the twist he had contorted himself into in his throes. Ichijouji commanded Okuwamon to release Airdramon, and Airdramon flapped his wings once but did not try to get into the air.

"I won't have to evolve up Airdramon," said Ichijouji. "We can just ride him as he is. It'll be easier on me, believe me."

"I _don't_ believe you," said Daisuke. "This is obviously killing you. We'll never make it if you _die,_ Ichijouji."

"Stop talking about me dying. I'm not dying."

"The Kaizer dying would make a lot of Digimon happy," said Veemon.

Airdramon opened his eyes, and they were red as embers. "Don't speak of such things. There will be no death on _my_ watch."

Ichijouji looked up at Airdramon, and then with Daisuke's help he hauled himself to his feet once more. "We need to fly north," he said, "and a long way east. Do you know where my fortress is located?"

"Not exactly," said Airdramon, "but I know generally where it has to be."

"That's where we're going. How is your wing? Can you fly yet?"

Airdramon flapped his right wing, and stretched it out; Daisuke could see the scorched damage to the thin bones through the streaking rain. "A few minutes longer," he said.

Ichijouji devolved Okuwamon to Flymon with a command, and then further devolved the insect to Kunemon. After that, he leaned heavily onto Daisuke once more to remain standing. "I'm so tired, Motomiya," he whispered. "This was the only way, but I'm so tired."

"We could have found another way," said Daisuke. There was nothing to redeem the Spirals; their creation had required an atrocity, and their use required Ichijouji to kill himself slowly. "Raidramon ..."

"Would never have made it alone," interrupted Ichijouji. "Your partner is a strong and fast Digimon, and he would run himself into the ground for you, and that's exactly what would have happened."

Daisuke ran his wet gloved fingers through Ichijouji's sopping hair. "I hope you live through this."

"I will. I promise."


	8. Chapter 8

Flying was boring, so after a while Daisuke lay down again next to Ichijouji and took another nap. He didn't dream this time, although the rocking of Airdramon's flight made it into his sleep and kept him from sleeping deeply, and he woke when Ichijouji nudged him a few times.

"What is it?" said Daisuke groggily.

"We're about to raid a homestead," said Ichijouji. "I thought you'd probably want to be awake for it."

Daisuke sat up slowly and wiped a hand over his face, then ran it through his hair. Veemon was next to him, looking worried, and Daisuke fondly pulled his partner into a close hug.

Raiding meant violence, of course. Daisuke had seen the aftermath of numerous raids by the Digimon Kaizer, and had always been enraged by them. The Kaizer sometimes raided for slaves and sometimes for resources, but neither type left behind anything but smoking ruins.

Now he was about to see one conducted from the perspective of the raiders. It made him feel ... queer, inside, like a sickness was taking root in his gut.

The homestead was visible near the horizon, standing in the midst of neatly-groomed fields of greenish-brown cropland that clothed the plains like fur. No Digimon could be seen at this distance, only a few low-built buildings and a sort of silo. Veemon and Daisuke silently watched the ground approach as Airdramon shed altitude, until he was all but skating across the tall stalks of the crop.

Ichijouji seemed to have regained a least a little strength, because he attempted to stand by levering himself up against Airdramon's right horn, and succeeded this time. "Aim for buildings," he said, voice raised to be heard over the wind. "There will be a cellar under the main house. Herd them into it. Give them nowhere else to hide. Don't use fire." White fencing streaked by as Airdramon dropped into a track of some kind between fields, his great wings half-furled to keep them from fouling in the crop. Daisuke reached between his knees with one hand and twisted a handful of Airdramon's mane in his fingers; beside him, Veemon did likewise.

This was going to be awful, he thought, and he was right.

The Digimon of the homestead realized far too late that the noble Vaccine Digimon bearing down on them had hostile intentions; they'd come out of their home in curiosity, and didn't scatter until Airdramon demolished the silo with a whip of his tail as he flew by. _"Spinning Needle!"_ cried Airdramon, a shower of grain and dust from the silo rising up around him, and one of the buildings went up into splinters under the assault. Then he turned and spun more needles at another, collapsing its roof.

The Digimon on the ground were screaming and dashing about as they tried to escape the assault. One of them cried, "He's Ringed! It's the Digimon Kaizer!"

"Kunemon!" called Ichijouji, raising his Digivice with the hand he wasn't using to support himself. "Dark Digivolve!"

_"Kunemon, Dark Digivolve to ... Flymon!"_

It was awful. Flymon joined the assault with the single-minded intensity of a Virus, skewering two of the Digimon with his stingers as they fled. The remainder – some six or seven Digimon – ran, mostly toward the barn, but Airdramon made a pass over the barn and annihilated it with a physical smash from his tail that reduced it to a spray of broken boards and trusses.

That left only the main house, and the terrified Digimon raced toward it, though it was quite a distance for a few of them. Airdramon followed them, but allowed them to escape into the cellar, and roared.

"Down," said Ichijouji, and Airdramon obediently dipped low. Daisuke stood up, stunned by what he'd just witnessed, what he'd been a part to.

"This is bad, Daisuke," said Veemon, with a little whine in his voice.

"I knew what we were getting into," said Daisuke, and he wished that were honestly true.

Ichijouji slid down Airdramon's horn to his knees, and said, very quietly, "Help me down."

Airdramon tried to assist by landing and putting his chin on the ground, but Ichijouji still needed Daisuke to half-catch him as he slid in an undignified fashion down Airdramon's cheek. He didn't go straight to his knees, but he clearly needed support to stand, so Daisuke provided it.

The cozy little homestead was a ruin already. The barn was nothing but broken ribs under the sky; the silo was cut down to half its original size, all the good nutritious grain spilled across the dirt like a kicked pile of sand. Only the main house still stood undamaged, and Daisuke was sure it wouldn't be that way for long.

"Why did you let them get into the cellar?" asked Daisuke.

"I want to talk to them before I kill them," said Ichijouji.

"Why?"

Ichijouji glanced at Daisuke sidelong. "Information, of course."

"On what?"

"What's around, what we can expect to find. Help me that way?" Ichijouji pointed toward the house.

It was the walk of maybe a hundred paces from Airdramon's landing spot. The Kaizer stumbled four times. Daisuke realized part way there that the picturesque white house was undersized for a human, less than half the height it ought to be from the ground to the top of its gambrel roof, which meant that there were likely child Digimon living here. That they were going to die put weight into Daisuke's body, dragging him toward the earth; he was _tired_ of killing, and he was especially tired of killing helpless Digimon.

"I hate that we have to kill them," he muttered.

"Daisuke," said Veemon, at Daisuke's heels, "are you going to want me to do it?" None of Daisuke's reservations reflected in the dragon's voice, only open curiosity.

"If you want to," said Ichijouji.

"Maybe you should," said Daisuke. "You can make it quick." He wasn't sure how Ichijouji otherwise planned to murder these Digimon; he had an idea of Airdramon breathing fire down the cellar door and cooking them. Who knew how long it would take for them to die? He put a hand into his pocket, gripping his Digivice.

It wasn't clear how deep the cellar went, but when they reached the door down, Daisuke could hear the Digimon huddling and whispering to one another so it couldn't have been that far. Ichijouji gathered himself, lifting himself from Daisuke's support, and then walked slowly over to bang on the door with his heel. "Digimon," he said as he stepped back, his voice raised but a little quivery. "I would speak with you. Send someone out."

Muffled whispering, and then a voice from the cellar said, "You'll Ring us."

"If you think that's worse than dying, then by all means stay there."

Apparently at least one of the Digimon didn't think it was worse than dying, because a few moments later the door creaked open a few inches, and a small bear-like Digimon that Daisuke didn't recognize peeked out. His eyes shone like the sky as his glance darted from the Kaizer to Daisuke and back. "Hello," he said, and then he cringed when Ichijouji smiled a vicious smile.

"Come out," said Ichijouji, not coaxing, but with an audible expectation of obedience. He pointed at the ground in front of him and actually snapped his fingers, the way one might snap to get the attention of a dog. Daisuke winced.

If the little Digimon was offended, he didn't dare show it. He slowly crept out of the cellar, letting the door close behind him; Daisuke could see at least two Floramon down there, but nothing else was clearly visible in the shadows. The bear was wearing a baseball cap, but he quickly snatched it off his head and held it in his paw, looking up at the two children with wide eyes. "Yes, ah ... yes, sir?"

"There are Digimon searching for me," said Ichijouji. "Have any come by here asking about me?"

"Ahhh ..." The bear Digimon wrung the hat in his hand. "Ahhh ... well, yes? Lekismon was here two days ago with Airdramon, asking if we had seen or heard anything about the Digimon Kaizer. We told them nothing! I swear!"

"You had nothing to tell," said Ichijouji, annoyance in his tone. He swayed a bit, and Daisuke tried to unobtrusively steady him with a hand to his elbow. "You hadn't seen me yet."

"Well ..." The Digimon seemed to have to think about this a moment. "I guess that's true."

"Of course it's true, you idiot! What else did they say?"

The Digimon cringed down even further, but kept peeking up to glance Daisuke's way and, once, toward Veemon. "They didn't mention that you had a ... a Chosen Child with you. Digimon Kaizer, sir, please, what do you want from us? We're nothing to you."

"We need supplies," said Ichijouji. "Our Digimon need food, and so do we. Everyone else stays in the cellar. You," and here he leveled his whip at the bear Digimon, "are going into the house and you're going to bring out something suitable for humans. Go."

"Um," said the Digimon, but when Ichijouji glared at him, he scampered back around the house toward the back door to, hopefully, obey.

Daisuke had no idea how long he'd slept on Airdramon's head, but it felt like late afternoon now, with a hint of sweetness in the breeze that swept the plains. Ichijouji directed Flymon and Airdramon to the broken silo, telling them to stuff themselves on the raw grain, as the bear Digimon came back around the house with a tray loaded down with standard-looking food. A couple of loaves of bread, some unidentified brown fruit, a baked pastry, and flat leaves of some kind of smoked meat. Daisuke passed everything by Veemon, who declared it all edible.

They sat at the trestle table near the back door, the bear Digimon standing in nervous attendance. The bread was tender with a flaky crumb and a chewy crust, obviously baked only that morning. Daisuke could have eaten an entire loaf by himself, and nearly did. Ichijouji mostly picked at the smoked meat and the fruit, not inhaling his food the way Daisuke did, but under Daisuke's eye he at least ate a respectable amount. Some color had returned to his skin by the time he finished.

Ichijouji interrogated the bear Digimon while he ate, asking about the relationship between this farmhouse and the crossroad towns, and the layout of the surrounding land. The Digimon said that they only really interacted with the towns when it came time to barter their harvest for needed items, and he described the layout of the surrounds somewhat. There were plains to the east and west, and of course the crossroad towns, but a good way to the north there was a forest. That was good news, and Daisuke wondered if he could arrange for a longer layover there than just the time it took to find something to feed the Digimon.

Veemon, who, as usual, had gone for whatever was sweetest and had demolished the entire pastry within minutes, had his eyes on the bear Digimon. As Daisuke was trying to decide if he wanted some of the smoked meat or a piece of fruit, Veemon said kindly, "Don't try it, okay?"

The bear Digimon flinched, and said in a low tone, "I wasn't going to try anything."

"It's all right," said Veemon. "I'd be thinking of doing something, too. The Digimon Kaizer is just as horrible as you think, and if you asked me why we're helping him, I'd have no answer for you. But we are, so I'll have to do something to you if you try anything. Don't make me do that, okay?"

Daisuke and Ichijouji were both staring now, and, to Daisuke's horror and shock, the bear Digimon slowly reached over and handed Veemon a knife he'd hidden in his paw. Veemon smiled and took it, and tossed it across the table. It skittered almost into Daisuke's lap.

"You're welcome, by the way," said Veemon to Ichijouji.

"Thank you," said Ichijouji graciously. "I knew I liked you for good reasons."

"You can like me as much as you want," said Veemon, "but don't think I like you back."

Daisuke took the knife and turned it over; it was an ordinary kitchen knife, bright and sharp as a word. "I have a big problem with this," he said to the bear Digimon, gesturing with the blade.

"I'm sorry," said the Digimon, almost too low to be audible. "I'm sorry! It was just my own idea! Don't hurt anyone else, please."

Ichijouji held out a hand for the knife, and Daisuke passed it over. "How were you planning to kill me with this?" asked Ichijouji, calmly enough. "Slit my throat? Stab me between the ribs? Do you even know how to kill a human?" When the Digimon didn't reply, gazing at his shoes in shame, Ichijouji raised a hand to his mouth and whistled.

Both Flymon and Airdramon responded immediately, winging over from the silo. Daisuke stood up and waved a hand. "No," he told Ichijouji, his heart sinking. "Veemon will do it." He had to. Daisuke owed this poor Digimon that much.

"I'll make it fast," promised Veemon.

"What if I don't want it made fast?" said Ichijouji.

Daisuke frowned. "What if I don't care what you want?"

"Hmmm." Ichijouji looked up at Daisuke over the rims of his glasses. His eyes were bright as crystals, almost feverish. "I've noticed that."

"What are you going to do?" asked the bear Digimon, fear settling into his voice as a tremble. There was no need to tell him, so Daisuke didn't bother; he chose Veemon's Raidramon evolution, because that form's lightning attack would probably stun everyone in the cellar and render them insensible as they were slain.

But the bear Digimon realized what was going to happen as soon as Raidramon bounded off toward the cellar door. He yelled something incoherent and tried to race after Raidramon, but Ichijouji caught him, lashing out with the whip and tripping him, yanking him back. Daisuke walked over to the Digimon, who was screaming now, and laid a hand on his back to hold him down.

"Shhh," said Daisuke, hating himself and hating the Kaizer and hating the digital world in a sudden rush, for making him do this. "It's not your fault. We were going to kill you all anyway."

"You can't!" cried the Digimon, and then lights and an explosion came from the cellar, and he screamed again in agony. "Stop, please, stop, please!"

Daisuke rubbed the little bear on the head, petting him like an animal, and he looked up at Ichijouji, whose face was utterly impassive. Flymon and Airdramon, having figured out that they weren't needed, had returned to the grain. Another flash of blue light came out of the cellar door, and the bear Digimon was sobbing now into the dirt.

"It's not your fault," said Daisuke again.

"We'll need to take as much food with us as we can," said Ichijouji. He laid the knife down on the table. "Airdramon doesn't need to evolve at all, so maybe he can go a day or so after this before we'll need to make another raid."

And the Kaizer had said that they could be back at his fortress within a week with an Airdramon. That meant only a week more of this kind of violence, a week more of death and destruction and Ichijouji slowly wasting away. Daisuke wasn't sure he could make it. He petted the bear Digimon because the creature was crying the kind of ugly, painful cries that only death could bring and Daisuke was responsible for that. He wasn't sure he could handle being the cause of more misery and horror.

Raidramon eventually came up out of the cellar, his claws tracking red, and Daisuke rose so that his Digimon could kill the bear as well. "Do it," he said, and Raidramon didn't hesitate.

_"Lightning Blade!"_ called Raidramon, and then, when the electrical strike didn't kill the bear Digimon outright, he ripped the creature apart with his claws.

* * *

They made it to the forest the following morning. Daisuke woke from dreams full of Pegasusmon's screams and the red cries of murdered Digimon to find himself still atop Airdramon's head with Ichijouji nestled against his body. Something about the angle of Airdramon's flight clued him in, and he glanced toward the great dragon's snout to see a green haze on the horizon.

Ichijouji made a sound and tried to burrow deeper into Daisuke's chest, and something alive with wonder moved into Daisuke's throat. Everything that tried to punish him in his dreams had suffered and died for this boy in his arms, for the sake of keeping Ichijouji safe. Were Daisuke by himself, he would have just appealed to Hikari, or perhaps Takeru, and one of them would have helped him home. It was because of Ichijouji that this option was foreclosed. It was because of Ichijouji that Daisuke was in this predicament at all, rather than standing in Skip Phase right now sucking honey from the words of the Holy Beasts.

That should have made him angry, but with Ichijouji huddled up with his knees raised and his forehead against Daisuke's chest, there was no room for anger in his heart because something else was already there, taking up all the space. Daisuke put a careful hand around the back of Ichijouji's shoulders, and realized that this was a mistake only when he felt the Kaizer stiffen, and knew that the other boy was awake.

"Good morning," said Daisuke.

Ichijouji pulled back, out of Daisuke's reach, and sat up, running a hand through his wild hair and straightening his glasses. He looked around, his eyes sliding off Daisuke to the left. "Good morning," he said quietly. "Airdramon?"

The dragon's voice was almost more felt than heard. "Yes?"

"How far to the forest? Can you make it?"

"I can make it. Fear not. We'll be there in an hour."

Ichijouji didn't look satisfied with this, his lips pressed into a thin line, and Daisuke wondered if a Ringed Digimon could lie to its master. Regardless, Airdramon did make it, coming in for a final approach less than an hour later.

This forest was not like the ancient woodland they had left behind with the mountains. It was thinner, with younger trees and more scrubby undergrowth, which Airdramon flattened as he alighted on the ground. Ichijouji seemed stronger after sleeping all night, and he jumped down from Airdramon's head this time with no assistance, although he seemed a little wobbly upon landing.

He told Airdramon to rest for a while, and Airdramon curled up in a coil with his head resting on his body, the black Spiral beside his cheek. Then Ichijouji sent Kunemon off to find something to eat, and Daisuke sent Veemon with it, so that he could be alone with Ichijouji with only the sleeping Airdramon as company.

"How much farther?" asked Daisuke quietly.

Ichijouji had the satchel in his hand, and he sat down and opened it, and broke a loaf of crusty bread in half. "Another three or four days," he said, offering half to Daisuke. "Assuming that we keep going on Okuwamon."

"How?" asked Daisuke, and then he answered himself. "You'll devolve Airdramon, and carry him." He took the bread being offered, and sat down in front of Ichijouji.

"Airdramon Digivolve from Monodramon," said Ichijouji. "They're about Veemon's size. Okuwamon would have no trouble carrying one." He carefully tore a bite off the half-loaf in his hand, and delicately ate it.

Daisuke preferred to simply bite directly into the piece he'd been given and tear off chunks that way. "But Okuwamon is killing you," he said, with his mouth full. "You're better today because you've eaten and slept and you haven't evolved anyone. You'll be on your knees again by nightfall if we use Okuwamon."

"Then that's what has to happen, because I don't want to stop moving. They'll notice Airdramon missing sooner or later, and have a better idea of where to look for us."

"We can keep going on Raidramon," said Daisuke, but Ichijouji just slid his glasses down his nose and gave Daisuke a Look. "We can!" Daisuke insisted. "We traveled on Raidramon for a long way!"

"Slowly," said Ichijouji. "We've covered more ground in the past two days than we did in two weeks on Raidramon. It's the only way, Motomiya. Don't make this complicated. It's really very simple."

"It's _not_ simple. You're going to die from this if you keep evolving Okuwamon."

"No, I'm not," Ichijouji insisted. He nibbled another piece of bread. Daisuke had no idea why he didn't just _eat_ like a normal person. "I'll be fine. It's only a couple of days. As soon as we get in range of a dark tower, the tower will take over powering the Spirals."

Daisuke reached over and took the Kaizer's glasses off his face, to see how healthy he looked. There was still an unnatural brightness to Ichijouji's eyes, still a certain gauntness to the lines of his face, but he wasn't deathly white anymore and that seemed to be a good sign.

Setting the glasses to one side, Daisuke crawled forward to get into Ichijouji's lap, straddling his thighs. Ichijouji leaned back, wary now as Daisuke took the bread and set it to the side as well.

"What are you doing?" asked Ichijouji.

"I made a promise to myself that I would protect you," said Daisuke, dropping soft kisses to the sides of Ichijouji's mouth.

"Did you."

"I'm starting to think that I need to protect you from yourself as much as from the Holy Beasts." Then he ran his tongue over Ichijouji's lower lip, and Ichijouji's lips parted for him, and he fell into that deep and intimate kiss that ran liquid pleasure straight down into Daisuke's belly and groin. Nothing in this world felt as good as kissing Ichijouji, as feeling Ichijouji's tongue caress his own, as running his hands down the other boy's chest, as pulling Ichijouji's hands between his legs and grinding his growing erection against gloved fingers. As moaning a little into Ichijouji's mouth, and feeling more than hearing an answering moan.

Patamon was gone; nothing was going to stop Daisuke today. He pressed Ichijouji to lay back, and unfastened the latch around Ichijouji's throat to release the blue-and-gold cloak, so that he could lean down to kiss under that delicately pointed chin. After a long hesitation, Ichijouji raised his chin a bit, and Daisuke raked his teeth across silky skin.

"What are you doing?" asked Ichijouji, and was he out of breath already?

Daisuke pulled Ichijouji's shirt open and tore off his own gloves, wanting to feel flesh under his own. "You drive me crazy," said Daisuke between nips of Ichijouji's throat. "As crazy as you are."

"I'm not crazy," said Ichijouji. "And I'm not dying."

Daisuke just dug his fingernails into Ichijouji's flanks and covered the other boy's mouth with his own to silence him.

The next moment Daisuke was on his back on the ground, Ichijouji atop him with his eyes hard and his breath coming in panting gasps between parted lips. Then Ichijouji descended to kiss, and it was as violent a kiss as Daisuke could expect from the Digimon Kaizer, deep and invasive, almost bruising Daisuke's mouth.

There were no words after that, nor any need. Daisuke raised his chin into the kiss, and Ichijouji slid his hands up under Daisuke's jacket and shirt; the gloves were new, but already roughened by wear and weather, and Daisuke gasped as they scraped across his skin and nipples. A little rush of pleasure shot down between his legs at the sensation, and Daisuke tried to get a hand between them, intending to slide it down Ichijouji's pants. Instead, Ichijouji gripped his wrists and forced his arms apart, pinning him down, which Daisuke quickly discovered was impossible to escape.

It was almost overwhelming, having Ichijouji pressed so close against Daisuke's body, having him _respond_ for once, instead of just passively taking whatever Daisuke chose to do. Ichijouji's tongue went deep into Daisuke's mouth, and Daisuke tried to suck it in deeper yet. He'd never felt so alight, so _alive,_ as when kissing Ichijouji, and he didn't even mind when Ichijouji bit down on the side of his neck, because it felt _amazing._ Every motion, every twitch of their bodies rubbed their groins together, and Daisuke hooked his leg around the back of Ichijouji's knee, trying to pull them closer yet. He thrust upward into the sweet pressure, feeling like he could come from this if only he could get enough of it.

Ichijouji nipped his neck again, and Daisuke could feel him breathing hard, almost gasping against Daisuke's skin. He ground his hips against Daisuke's, clearly searching for the same kind of stimulation Daisuke needed, and Daisuke had only a moment to think about how messy this was going to be when he stumbled unexpectedly across the brink of climax.

Almost immediately, while Daisuke was still in the throes of orgasm, Ichijouji pulled back, and released one of Daisuke's hands so he could unfasten his own pants. Moments later, as Daisuke tried to get his head together through the haze of pleasure and that almost-floating sensation that came to him sometimes, he found his free hand being moved between Ichijouji's legs, and more on instinct than reason he took hold of the erection against his hand and began to stroke.

"Ahhh," Ichijouji sighed against Daisuke's mouth, just before the other boy went in for another deep kiss. Daisuke didn't mind – the wet slide of Ichijouji's tongue dragged out the pleasure – but before long Ichijouji broke the kiss again in favor of panting breathlessly against Daisuke's neck. He started jerking his hips forward, thrusting into Daisuke's hand, and then he came himself with soft gasps against Daisuke's skin.

After that they lay silently against one another for some amount of time that passed unmarked in Daisuke's reckoning, measured only by the two boys' slowing breaths. Eventually, though, Daisuke started to feel a little gross, and he nudged Ichijouji until the Kaizer shifted and sat up, so that Daisuke could do likewise.

"Ugh," said Daisuke, because he was thoroughly marked with semen. "I hope Veemon finds a stream or something where I can wash up."

Ichijouji seemed at first like he had nothing to say about that, busying himself with closing up his shirt and finding his cloak where it had been discarded next to the tree. But then he said, "If he doesn't, we'll search for one for you." He wasn't looking at Daisuke.

"Wow." Daisuke couldn't believe how disgusting he felt now, but at the time it had seemed worth it. It kind of still did. He wiped his hands off on his stained pants and put his gloves back on, as Ichijouji picked up the discarded bread and resumed eating.

Daisuke turned, then, and realized that Airdramon had one drowsy red eye cracked open, and he flushed when he wondered how long the Digimon had been watching them. A moment after he noticed, Airdramon's eye closed.

* * *

Veemon didn't find a stream, but what he did find was a grove of nut trees. He and Kunemon led the rest of the group to it, Airdramon slithering between the trees with wings furled like a great serpent, where the Digimon proceeded to gorge themselves on the raw nuts. Daisuke tried to few as he helped shell them for the Digimon – they tasted like cashews – but he and Ichijouji mostly fed themselves from the stolen food from the farmhouse.

Then came an argument, because Ichijouji wanted to Digivolve Kunemon into Okuwamon and continue their journey, while Daisuke was fully opposed to that plan. "You're going to kill yourself," said Daisuke, for what felt like the thousandth time. "The Spiral is going to kill you!"

"It isn't going to kill me," said Ichijouji, yet again. He raised his Digivice and evolved Kunemon to Flymon, and then seemed to pause a moment, which Daisuke quickly filled with his objections.

"We can rest here today," said Daisuke. "This is good cover and nobody is looking for us here yet. Airdramon will carry us tonight. Look, it's stupid to be flying Okuwamon during the _day_ anyway, regardless of how dangerous it is to you!"

"I don't want to delay," said Ichijouji. "We can make good time in flight." But he was looking at his Digivice, thoughtful, perhaps even rethinking his plans.

Daisuke seized on this, and actually took Ichijouji by the wrist, saying, "If nothing else, we should make sure that we're flying Okuwamon at night and Airdramon during the day. We _need_ to rest here today instead of going on with Okuwamon in broad daylight."

"It's only a matter of time before someone finds that homestead we destroyed," said Ichijouji. "They'll know which way we're headed."

"If someone does find us, we have a lot of strong Digimon here. Flamedramon alone could probably take care of anything that finds us, and Okuwamon is ridiculously strong. Airdramon is pretty powerful, too, and you could evolve him farther if you needed to. If there's a pitched battle, I think we'd probably win against anything but the Holy Beasts in person."

"I would fight even the Holy Beasts for you," volunteered Airdramon.

"I don't _want_ to fight," said Ichijouji. "I don't want to be found. I want to keep moving." But Daisuke knew he'd won this one when the Kaizer put his Digivice back into his pocket.

"We won't be found," Daisuke promised.

So they rested in the forest the remainder of the day. Daisuke left Ichijouji behind with his slaves to look for a stream on Raidramon's back. When he returned with his clothes somewhat cleaner, he found Ichijouji apparently dozing against a tree trunk, with Flymon standing guard and Airdramon fast asleep in a coil. Daisuke wasn't tired, and didn't imagine that Ichijouji was tired either, but there was very little to do while the Digimon rested beneath the swaying nut trees and napping seemed like a good option to pass the time.

However, when he swung down from Raidramon's back, Ichijouji's eyes opened and regarded him with cool disinterest from behind the dark glasses.

"Sorry," said Daisuke quietly. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't." Ichijouji sat up, and brushed his fingers through the dark spikes of his hair.

Daisuke devolved Raidramon and plopped down next to the Kaizer with Veemon at his side, leaning companionably against the same tree trunk. Ichijouji waved Flymon down from the tree branches and ordered the Digimon to rest, but after that he went quiet. Daisuke let the quiet lay between them for a few minutes, before saying, "Do you really think you can force open the Gate?"

"Mmmm." Ichijouji picked the glove off one hand so he could examine his fingernails. "I was getting close."

"How?"

"How good are you at math?"

Daisuke laughed. "I can add and subtract, but multiplication and division are my _bane."_

"Well." If Ichijouji found this as amusing as Daisuke did, it didn't come out in his voice. "It's hard to explain without the math, but the basic idea is that the Gate seems to be a temporary alignment between the two worlds. It turns out that there are a lot of ways this alignment can be made. There needs to be a point of physical transference, but it doesn't have to be at one of those television screens. I've found records of Gates opening in regular doors, and in water. Vamdemon was doing research on opening a Gate, and I had hoped to borrow his work."

"Oh," said Daisuke, a gnaw of worry in his belly. "We killed Vamdemon and destroyed his castle."

"I know that. It's unfortunate." Ichijouji brought his hand to his mouth to nip the side of one finger.

"We didn't know."

"I know you didn't. I started another line of research after that. I needed to probe an operating Gate for it, but you interrupted me before I could get the equipment built."

Daisuke crossed his arms behind the back of his head, and said, "If there's anything you need me to do, let me know. I am totally up for it."

"I'll definitely need your help."

The idea that this brilliant child needed _his_ help warmed Daisuke, and he smiled. "I'll do anything for you, you know that. I hope I've proven that by now."

"Believe me, _I've_ noticed," said Veemon sourly. Daisuke waved a hand to shussh him.

"That's not true," said Ichijouji. "You've tried to stop me a couple of times now."

"Well ..." Daisuke had to admit to that; even now, the memory of that dismembered Gotsumon could turn his stomach. "Within reason," he amended. "I'll do anything for you within reason."

"That's fine. I'll do the unreasonable things for you."

"What's the first thing you're going to do when we get home?"

There was a long silence then, and Daisuke wondered if this was the wrong question to ask. He knew what _he_ was going to do and didn't mind sharing it, so it hadn't occurred to him that maybe Ichijouji might not feel the same way.

But then Ichijouji answered, saying, "After my parents let me out of the house again? I'll visit my brother's grave."

"... oh," said Daisuke. He hadn't known Ichijouji had a brother once. It was weird to think of the Digimon Kaizer as having an ordinary family, with parents and a sibling. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"It happened a couple of years ago," said Ichijouji. "We were walking home from the park. We were in the crosswalk and a car turned and didn't look if there was anyone else in the intersection. It would have hit me, too, but Osamu pushed me out of the way."

"I'm sorry," said Daisuke again, wishing he'd never brought this up.

"You didn't do it. It was just an accident. He didn't die right away, but he never woke up again, and my parents had to take him off life support. That was pretty rough."

"How old were you?"

"Mmmm. Seven. Osamu was three years older than me." Ichijouji stretched, and then raised one knee and rested his hands on it. "My last memory of him is in the hospital, full of needles and tubes, with his face so swollen you couldn't even tell who he was. Mama wanted me to say goodbye, but I was frightened by how he looked and I didn't understand, so I just ran out of the room. So I never told him goodbye, or thank you for saving me, or that I loved him, or anything." His tone was low and wistful.

Daisuke, at a complete loss for how this conversation had turned, groped for some kind of response for that. But what could he possibly say? Except for, "I'm sorry," yet again.

"You don't have to be. So every year on the anniversary of his death, we would all go visit the family grave. Which I've missed probably twice. Some day I want to go by myself, so I can tell him everything I should have said that day."

"We'll definitely get home before you have to miss it a third time," said Daisuke.

"Maybe."

"Well, the first thing _I'm_ going to do is eat all the ice cream in the _world."_ Daisuke pitched his voice into a deliberately cheerful tone, trying to raise the mood again. "Then Chibimon and I are going to go and corner the other Chosen somewhere and tell them everything. Including that deal that Iori cut with the Holy Beasts about you."

"What deal?"

"You said he told you that the Holy Beasts agreed to let him watch them torture you," said Daisuke. "And then I saw him coming back into Skip Phase that night, so I knew it was true."

"Oh, that," said Ichijouji. "I don't know if I'd call that a _deal,_ exactly. He didn't tell me he cut any deals with anyone about it, just that he wanted to watch and they were going to let him."

"Yeah, well, that's gross. It's gross that he knew what they were going to do and was okay with it, and even grosser that he actually wanted to see it."

"Well," said Ichijouji, "I guess ultimately it was a good thing he wanted to watch, because they showed me what they were planning but I guess they were waiting for him and didn't get to it before you got me out."

Didn't get to it? Daisuke thought that they had – they'd carved words into Ichijouji's skin, after all. Had there been more? Worse? "What were they planning?" asked Daisuke, curious now.

Ichijouji held out a hand, shaping a smallish object with his fingers, perhaps four centimeters across. "They were going to put this ... thing, a device of some kind, inside me. Into my neck, to be a collar."

Daisuke's skin crawled at the very idea. "What was it going to do?"

"Hurt me, of course, if I didn't obey. I told them once that I would obey them, to get them to let me go, and they believed me. I guess they aren't willing to just believe me anymore."

How could the Holy Beasts put up such a mask of kindness and benevolence when they could countenance such things? Daisuke would have punched Baihumon in the face right then if he'd had the Digimon at hand, as much for the lies as for the things he'd done, and planned to do, to Ichijouji. "I hate them," said Daisuke, and he meant it.

"What a coincidence, I hate them, too," said Ichijouji mildly. "And I hate other Digimon for putting up with them, and I hate the digital world for doing this to me at all."

"I'm not at the point of hating all Digimon yet," said Daisuke. But maybe he was starting to get there.

"Not everyone puts up with them, exactly," said Veemon quietly.

"Enough do," said Ichijouji, and then he went silent, sort of dropping the thought. Daisuke didn't feel a need to break the silence after that, preferring to keep his musings to himself.

* * *

That evening, Daisuke lost an argument with the Kaizer about Okuwamon. Ichijouji woke Flymon and got out his Digivice, and Daisuke started to raise his objections, but Ichijouji just Digivolved the Digimon anyway while Daisuke was still winding up, without bothering to respond at all.

"This is stupid," said Daisuke. Ichijouji looked ... not healthy, exactly, but like he was recovering well, and using Okuwamon was going to set him back. Ichijouji didn't answer that, either; he simply climbed up onto Okuwamon's head with the satchel and started to tie it to the knobs there.

It was stupid, but Daisuke could do nothing about it, it seemed. He climbed Okuwamon with the rolled-up blankets and broken laptop and helped get them lashed down.

As a final preparation, Ichijouji looked over Airdramon, and then held out his Digivice and devolved the powerful dragon. Airdramon turned into a remarkably cute little violet dragonet, which Ichijouji called a Monodramon. While Veemon took a seat in Okuwamon's mane, Monodramon went up to the great insect's head to nap at Ichijouji's feet.

The plan was to continue north for the rest of the night before turning east, to avoid the crossroad towns, but rain came up again shortly after they got into the air. Ichijouji took advantage of it to pass two of the towns behind the stormy veil, detouring only slightly to avoid the lights from below. Daisuke, wet through by the time the lights came into view, sort of held his breath as they passed the first, but when they reached the second the rain was coming down even harder and Daisuke could barely see it.

The evening otherwise passed uneventfully, but when morning broke Daisuke was appalled by how much Ichijouji had deteriorated during the night: his skin was waxy and shadows were gathering in the hollows of his cheeks, and he swayed on his feet. "Okay," said Daisuke, "it's time to swap to Airdramon," and Ichijouji did not really argue. He set Okuwamon down on the muddy plain and woke Monodramon.

When Monodramon was evolved up to Airdramon, and the dragon got a good look at Ichijouji, he said, "You look awful."

"I feel awful," said Ichijouji softly, with a hand on Airdramon's cheek to stay upright. Daisuke and Veemon did all the work of getting the gear transferred from Okuwamon to Airdramon, as quickly as possible so that Okuwamon could be devolved, and Daisuke noted with some concern that Ichijouji was panting as though unable to get enough air.

"Are you okay?" he asked Ichijouji when the last blanket was tied down. "Do you need help getting up?"

"... yes," said Ichijouji after a moment. He raised his hand and Daisuke took it, to help pull him up Airdramon's cheek and up onto the great dragon's head. On Airdramon, Ichijouji did not attempt to stand.

It was still raining, and Airdramon was both faster and better cover, so they passed another of the crossroad towns that day and were in the clear after that. Ichijouji spent the day asleep on Airdramon's head, saturated with water but apparently too tired to care, and Daisuke watched him sleep for perhaps an hour before curling up next to him and putting an arm over his body to hold him, and dozing off as well. Ichijouji did not stir when Daisuke cuddled up to him, which was alarming, but there was nothing Daisuke could do about it.

Around nightfall, after the rain had stopped, Daisuke was wakened by the chime of his D-terminal.

_Daisuke-kun,_

_Thanks for sending Patamon back. I owe you one._

__

_Takeru_

Daisuke did not respond. He wondered what all Patamon had told Takeru. Doubtless that they had an Airdramon now was part of it, but he recalled kissing Ichijouji while Patamon watched and wondered if that had made it into the report. If so, what did Takeru think? The email gave no clues.

Ichijouji woke shortly thereafter, and Daisuke asked him how much farther.

"Far enough that the Digimon need to eat," said Ichijouji. "Another two days to the nearest tower, assuming nobody knocked it over."

Two days didn't seem like a long time, but Daisuke took Ichijouji's glasses off and was shocked by how feverishly bright Ichijouji's eyes were. The other boy crossly took the glasses back and put them back on a moment later, but Daisuke had seen enough. "We need to stop using Okuwamon," he said.

"No." Ichijouji stood up, with great difficulty, and tapped Airdramon's head with his heel. "Land," he said, and then he coughed delicately into his hand.

"You can't keep doing this!" said Daisuke, as Airdramon circled downward. "We'll make it without Okuwamon!"

As though Daisuke had not spoken, Ichijouji said, "We need to feed the Digimon. Okuwamon can go another few hours but we'll have to raid another homestead tonight."

"We just passed one," said Airdramon. "I can turn back for it."

Ichijouji paused, and said, "Yes, do that."

So, again, they descended upon a second farmhouse, bringing death. This one was occupied by a Renamon and three Gotsumon; the Renamon attempted to put up a fight and was slain instantly by Airdramon, while the Gotsumon fled and had to be run down and killed by Raidramon. This farm grew some kind of black bean, which Airdramon liberated with a whip of his tail for Flymon and himself.

Daisuke again pleaded with Ichijouji to stay here for the night and not continue with Okuwamon, and again he was flatly ignored. Once Flymon had eaten his fill, Ichijouji Digivolved it into Okuwamon as though Daisuke were not literally objecting to this right at that moment. When Daisuke refused to help move the packs, however, Ichijouji shrugged and attempted to do it himself, stumbling until Daisuke relented.

"This is so stupid," he said, as he helped Ichijouji up onto Okuwamon's head. "You're killing yourself, and for nothing. We could just stay here tonight."

"You keep saying things like that," said Ichijouji suddenly, "but I saw you looking at your D-terminal earlier. Patamon made it back to his partner, didn't he?"

"Yes," said Daisuke, confused by what that had to do with anything.

"So they know where we're going. Do you hear me? _They know where we're going to be._ They're going to be waiting for us there."

Daisuke ... had not thought of that, although it was probably true. The Chosen Children had located the Kaizer's base, after all, and it wasn't like it had moved. "So we're rushing headlong into an ambush?" he said. "That's what you really want to do?"

"We need to make it there before they're ready for us," said Ichijouji. "I need to get to my computers. I can defend us if I can get to the computers. At the very least, we need to get there when they aren't expecting us yet, and ideally before the Holy Beasts can even get a contingent in place." He coughed, concealing it behind his hand. "We have to keep going, as fast as we can."

This left Daisuke with very little to say. His objections stood unchallenged, but this new information made those objections seem almost naive. Yes, they could rest here for the night, and forgo further progress on Okuwamon ... and perhaps give the Holy Beasts' agents time to set up a trap. Or they could continue, and further drain Ichijouji's health, and ultimately survive.

What was Ichijouji willing to pay for survival? A great deal, it seemed. "All right," said Daisuke, "but I'm watching you. If you collapse on me, we stop."

"I won't collapse," said Ichijouji. But that night he didn't try to stand on Okuwamon's head, either.

* * *

By the following dawn, they were back over the foothills, with mountains gleaming in the distance in the thin golden morning. It was barely light out when Ichijouji had Okuwamon descend, and they switched out for Airdramon. Ichijouji could not stand; he got down off Okuwamon okay, but went down after that and could not get back up even after half an hour on the ground. Daisuke eventually had to appeal to Flamedramon for help in getting Ichijouji up onto Airdramon's head.

"I'll hold him," said Flamedramon, seating himself between Airdramon's horns with the Kaizer cradled in his lap. Ichijouji's cough had gotten worse overnight, and Daisuke wasn't sure but at one point he thought he saw blood on Ichijouji's glove.

Airdramon was swift and sure, gliding sinuously through the air as though riding the waves of the ocean, and Daisuke wondered if he was swift _enough._ But then Ichijouji said, "Motomiya," and held up his Digivice, and Daisuke checked the screen to see a black blip. "It's an active dark tower," said Ichijouji. "We'll be there by tomorrow morning."

That was still a long way away, but Daisuke nevertheless could have gotten on his knees and prayed a thanksgiving to whatever god would hear him. "We're going to make it, then," he said.

"I told you we would, and I told you I wasn't going to die." Ichijouji coughed, hard, and turned his head so that Daisuke couldn't see if there was more blood in it. Flamedramon shrugged a bit to shift the Kaizer's head, helping him cough up whatever was obstructing his airway.

"Yeah, I remember you saying that," said Daisuke, so flooded with relief that he could be generous now. "Can Airdramon take us all the way there?"

"Not without food," said Airdramon. "But if I can get some dinner before nightfall, I can make it."

"No," said Ichijouji. "Airdramon can't make it. We'll need Okuwamon one more time."

_Damn._ All of Daisuke's optimism crashed in that moment. Here was Ichijouji, unable to stand, unable to even sit up on his own, possibly coughing up blood, and he wanted to use Okuwamon _yet again._ "No," said Daisuke. "We can't risk it."

"We can't risk not doing it," said Ichijouji.

"We don't know what's there," said Daisuke. "It could be nothing."

"It could be anything. It could be nothing now, and three Andromon tomorrow. We have to keep moving. I need the computers." He coughed into his glove.

Daisuke wasn't going to be able to stop him; he could tell by the tone of Ichijouji's voice. It was just one more time, he told himself. Just one more.

Nevertheless, it was hard to look at Ichijouji resting in Flamedramon's arms and think that this was going to turn out okay. "Why does it have to be this way?" asked Daisuke forlornly.

"Because it does. We'll keep going, and this time tomorrow everything will be fine."

They stopped in the forest near dusk, hunting out food. This was the same forest through which Daisuke and his team had dragged Ichijouji toward the distant Gate - Daisuke could see the Gate on his Digivice when he checked – and they easily found some of that hard rind fruit that had sustained them for much of that trip. Daisuke shucked almost an entire tree's worth of fruit to toss into Airdramon's maw; Flymon ate the fruit rind and all. Ichijouji was still weak, although he was able to at least sit up against Flamedramon to eat, and his complexion did not improve with food.

"You're really not doing well," said Flamedramon, as he eased Ichijouji to the ground so that he could eat himself. "Daisuke is right. You're dying."

"I'm not," said Ichijouji, but he struggled to stay upright, and eventually just lay back on the ground.

"I know death when I see it," said Flamedramon. "Even if you don't literally kill yourself, you're never going to be the same after this."

Ichijouji rolled onto his side so he could cough his throat clear, and did not respond. He was also right, Daisuke knew. They had to keep going, and Raidramon was, frankly, too slow.

But Okuwamon was not the only option. "Airdramon said he can make it," said Daisuke. "Let's just go on Airdramon."

When Ichijouji's cough subsided, he lay quietly a moment before saying, "Airdramon can't make it. He thinks he can, but he'll exhaust himself trying. We need him able to fight if necessary."

"I can make it," said Airdramon. "I can get us there and fight afterward."

Ichijouji just coughed again, and slowly forced himself to sit up. So Daisuke walked over and went into the pocket where he knew the Kaizer kept his Digivice, and took it.

"Oh," said Ichijouji wearily, "you did not just take my Digivice."

"I did," said Daisuke, and he stuck it into the same pocket of his jacket as Takeru's. "I'm a serial thief of Digivices, and you're not getting yours back until you promise that we're taking Airdramon the rest of the way to the tower."

Ichijouji sighed, slumped over and weary. "Don't make me order my Digimon to get my Digivice back, okay? I don't think they would be gentle, and Veemon would intervene, and it would turn into a mess. I don't want to fight you, Motomiya."

Daisuke hadn't thought of that – he'd forgotten for a moment that the other Digimon here were slaves, and of course they would do as they were told no matter how inadvisable that action might be. Reluctantly, because he didn't want to fight either, he took the two stolen Digivices out of his pocket and gave the black one back to Ichijouji. The green one went back into his jacket. "This is a terrible idea," he said. "I can't let you just do this to yourself."

Ichijouji checked his Digivice and then put it back into his pocket. "One more night won't kill me," he said. "It won't even hurt me. I'm as hurt as I'm going to get."

Daisuke didn't believe it, but he had no other options if he didn't want to fight Airdramon. And he didn't want to fight Airdramon. So, when the Digimon were finished eating, he helped Ichijouji stand, and did nothing while Ichijouji evolved Okuwamon to carry them the rest of the night. It felt like a betrayal to do that – to do nothing – and he was more than half convinced that Ichijouji wasn't going to survive the night.

It was up to Flamedramon to again support Ichijouji on a flying Digimon's back, and again he handled the Digimon Kaizer with a degree of gentleness that surprised Daisuke. Given how little Flamedramon liked Ichijouji, he would have expected his partner to be rough with the Kaizer, but Flamedramon lifted Ichijouji with great concern and leapt onto Okuwamon's head with care.

Ichijouji looked up at Flamedramon while Daisuke was tying down the baggage, and said, "You're a fine Digimon."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," said Flamedramon, but his voice was not as harsh as his words.

"You're one of the best Digimon I've ever met. And you know I've met a lot."

"Stop it," said Daisuke, becoming abruptly very uncomfortable with this, as though Ichijouji were telling Flamedramon goodbye. He put his foot down on the satchel so he could tie off the rope. "Just shut up and get us underway, okay?"

Ichijouji didn't say much after that. Okuwamon buzzed ponderously east, toward the dip in the mountains where the Kaizer's fortress was located, and Ichijouji just coughed occasionally and panted for breath in between. Daisuke distracted himself by imagining that last fight, the one where he had captured the elusive Digimon Kaizer. They'd won because Rings were fragile. He'd have to be sure that Ichijouji resolved that particular vulnerability.

Just before dawn, Daisuke spotted it: the dark tower on the horizon, piercing the sky like a needle. It was behind the fortress, so Daisuke hadn't bothered going to break it, as they had broken the others on the way in; it had been sufficient to break all of the Rings instead.

"I can see the tower," he said. "How close do we have to be before it picks up powering the Spirals?"

Ichijouji said nothing, and when Daisuke checked it seemed like he might have been asleep in Flamedramon's arms. That was alarming, so Daisuke nudged him until he moved and opened his eyes, and asked, "What is it?" Daisuke repeated the question, and Ichijouji closed his eyes again. "If you can see it, it should be picking up the Spirals right now."

Reassured, Daisuke ran a hand through Ichijouji's hair. So they had made it. And Ichijouji wasn't dead, even though he breathed like he was broken. "I don't see any Digimon," he said.

"Mmmm." Ichijouji left it at that for a few minutes, but then said, "Monodramon."

"Yes?" asked the dragonet, hurrying over from his perch next to the packs.

"We're about to find out what you turn into after Airdramon." Ichijouji struggled to sit up, and failed, and just leaned against Flamedramon's arm. He raised his Digivice. "Monodramon, Dark Digivolve!"

Monodramon jumped off Okuwamon as silver light wrapped him, and a moment later the garish dragon rose into the thin morning light. Ichijouji then repeated his command, and Airdramon hovered midair.

_"Airdramon, Dark Digivolve to ... Gigadramon."_

"Holy ..." said Daisuke, as Airdramon's new form soared over Okuwamon. He'd never heard of a Gigadramon before, but the creature above him looked like the nightmare version of an Airdramon crossed with a Metal Greymon.

"I will accompany you," said Gigadramon, his voice much deeper now to match his larger conformation. Ichijouji didn't reply, and when Daisuke checked it seemed that he'd gone back to sleep.

Daisuke laced his fingers in Ichijouji's limp ones, and said, "Let's hope the computers are working."

"What are you going to do if they aren't?" asked Flamedramon.

"I don't know."

"Let's hope the Kaizer makes it," said Flamedramon.

Daisuke looked down at Ichijouji's white face, and said, "Yeah, let's hope that."


	9. Chapter 9

The gates of the Digimon Kaizer's fortress had that not-gold gleam to them that had told Daisuke, during his reconnaissance sortie long ago, in another lifetime, that they were reinforced with chrome digizoid. The fortress itself was constructed into the side of a hillock, such that it was protected from both ground and air assault, and Daisuke had decided that it was basically impregnable. In the golden mid-morning as Okuwamon and Gigadramon came in for final approach to the base, Daisuke was not surprised to see the gates still closed tight, as they had been during that final battle.

Given what Ichijouji had said he expected a welcoming party, but was surprised to see only a single, small Digimon, the size a child Digimon might be, waiting for them outside the gates. The little Digimon looked up at them as they circled overhead, and Daisuke wondered if this was some kind of trick. Maybe it was a very small Mega, but somehow Daisuke sort of doubted it.

Had Ichijouji been awake, he likely would have instructed his Digimon to kill the interloper instantly, and there would have been nothing Daisuke could say about it. But Ichijouji was passed out in Flamedramon's arms, and that meant Gigadramon and Okuwamon had no orders regarding this Digimon. Daisuke wondered if Okuwamon would listen to him, and he went cautiously up to the creature's head.

"Down," he said, tapping Okuwamon with his heel, and the great insect descended obediently. Encouraged, Daisuke said, "Land in front of that Digimon, far enough away that it can't attack us."

"What Digimon?" asked Flamedramon.

"Oh, there's something here," said Daisuke. He supposed Flamedramon couldn't see it around the curve of Okuwamon's head. "It's just one little Digimon."

The small Digimon was trying to speak to them, something that became audible only when Okuwamon was on the ground folding his wings. "Ken-chan!" it was calling, and it scrambled toward Okuwamon without any visible fear whatsoever. "Ken-chan, we can't stay here! We have to leave, now!"

Daisuke raised his voice to be heard across the distance. "Stay back," he said, warning the creature. "What are you talking about? Who are you?" How did this Digimon know Ichijouji?

In the reflected glory of the chrome digizoid gates, the small Digimon stopped, and looked up at Daisuke. "You're one of them," it said, its voice cautious. It was an insect-type, Daisuke could see now, some kind of small caterpillar. "You're a Chosen Child. What are you doing with Ken's slaves?"

"Who _are_ you?" asked Daisuke. "And how is it that you're on a first-name basis with the Digimon Kaizer?" Was this one of Ichijouji's slaves? There was a black mark on the caterpillar's tail, but even at this distance it didn't look like a Ring.

"Is he with you?" asked the caterpillar.

Annoyed, Daisuke said, "I'm asking the questions here. Who _are_ you?"

The Digimon hopped forward again, and said, "I want to see Ken."

This was not at all what Daisuke had been expecting. Who was this Digimon, and how did it know Ichijouji? Well, he wasn't going to admit that _Ken_ was indisposed, and he knew that Ichijouji would just kill the thing right now, so Daisuke was inclined to do likewise. Whatever this Digimon's game was, Daisuke didn't like it.

"Gigadramon," Daisuke called, "kill this Digimon for me, would you please?"

"Daisuke," said Flamedramon, and his tone was urgent. "Daisuke, don't!"

"Of course," said the serpent, descending with the clear intent of simply crushing the caterpillar with his tail.

But the caterpillar had another trick to pull. Rising up on its hindmost legs, it called, "Gigadramon, stop!" in the same kind of commanding voice the Kaizer used with his slaves.

And, stunningly, Gigadramon stopped. He resumed his circling overhead as though Daisuke had said nothing.

"Uh, oh," said Flamedramon. "Daisuke, is that a Wormmon out there?"

"I don't know!" said Daisuke, flabbergasted that Gigadramon was obeying this strange Digimon. "What does a Wormmon look like?"

The caterpillar, oblivious to this exchange, called, "Gigadramon, is the Kaizer here, maybe with you?"

"Not with me," said Gigadramon obediently. "He is with Flamedramon, on Okuwamon. He is not well at all, and is unconscious right now."

"Unconscious!" The small caterpillar hopped forward again. "Okuwamon, down," it said, and Okuwamon crouched. "What did you do to him! Ken-chan! What did they do to you!"

"Daisuke," said Flamedramon. "I think you just tried to kill the Kaizer's partner."

The caterpillar Digimon scrambled up Okuwamon's leg onto its head, and Daisuke took a step back and put himself in between the Digimon and the Kaizer. The Digimon took one look at Ichijouji draped over Flamedramon's arms, however, and went berserk. "What did you do to him!" it screamed, and tried to bodily slam Daisuke away. "What did you do to him! Ken-chan!"

"Nothing!" said Daisuke, and he got out of the creature's way before he was physically knocked off Okuwamon altogether. "He did it to himself, because he's a stupid idiot who thinks he's immortal!" This was bad. This was _so_ bad. Daisuke could only imagine what Veemon might do if he discovered Daisuke in Ichijouji's current condition.

With Daisuke out of the way, the caterpillar started to attack Flamedramon, but Flamedramon just put up an armored forearm and tolerated it. "Wormmon," said Flamedramon, his voice pitched to soothe. "Wormmon, he's all right. He's going to be all right."

It was then that the commotion woke Ichijouji, and he waved a hand until Wormmon jumped up into Flamedramon's lap and onto Ichijouji's chest. "Ken-chan!" Wormmon sobbed, and Ichijouji laid a weary arm across the Digimon's back.

"Wormmon," said Ichijouji drowsily. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to warn you," said the caterpillar, "but what happened to you? Did they feed you? What happened?"

"Long story," said Ichijouji, eyes closing again. "Yes, Motomiya fed me."

"Motomiya," said Wormmon. He turned baleful eyes on Daisuke. "That's you?"

"Yeah," said Daisuke. "Believe me, I tried to get him to eat way more than he actually did. Look, I'm sorry about the whole trying-to-get-Gigadramon-to-kill-you thing, but I promise I didn't do anything to Ichijouji. At all."

Wormmon didn't react to that, but Ichijouji's eyes slid open, and he regarded Daisuke with some unreadable emotion. "You tried to kill my partner?" he asked.

"I didn't know! Okay? I didn't know. I just knew that _some Digimon_ was here babbling about how we can't stay. I had no way to know he was your partner."

"What do you mean, we can't stay?"

"I tried to tell him," said Wormmon. "The Holy Beasts are sending a strike force here to kill you. You can't stay! They'll be here in less than two days!"

That sent a chill through Daisuke. He knew what strike forces looked like: they looked like Chosen Children. Would they send his own team after him, or some other group? Daisuke fervently hoped it was _not_ his team.

"We have to leave," Wormmon was saying. "We have to leave right now and hide!"

"I need the computers," said Ichijouji, his eyes closing again. "Have you been inside the fortress? Are the computers all right?"

"Everything is fine," said Wormmon. "Except that everyone is dead. It looks like nobody got inside, and the slaves just starved. Ken-chan, the computers won't help us. They're going to kill you!"

Ichijouji attempted to get up, and failed. Flamedramon shifted his grip so that Ichijouji was more sitting upright than otherwise, but that was all he could do. "I need to get to the computers," he said again. "Wormmon, open the gates, so we can get inside."

Wormmon hesitated, and then cast Daisuke a poisonous look before saying, "Is this Chosen Child to be trusted?"

"As much as anyone," said Ichijouji. "Wormmon, please. The gates."

There were no more arguments. Wormmon hopped off Okuwamon and moved toward the gates, where he did ... something, something Daisuke could not make out, which caused the gates to crack open, and slowly swing wide. It was forbiddingly dark inside, but when Wormmon ordered Okuwamon and Gigadramon to enter they did so without hesitation, as perfectly obedient to the tiny Digimon as they were to the Kaizer himself.

Just inside the gates was a huge space, like a vast hanger, that echoed and magnified every sound. As Wormmon moved deeper, lights began to snap on; the walls and ceiling were black metal panels riveted together. Okuwamon's claws skittered on the black metal floor.

Gigadramon settled on the floor next to Okuwamon, and Okuwamon knelt so that Daisuke and Flamedramon could get down. By habit, Daisuke untied the blankets and satchel and took them to the floor with him, but then realized that there was now no need to devolve Okuwamon with the tower powering the Spiral. As long as food could be scrounged for the huge Digimon ...

... but Wormmon had just said that the slaves in the fortress starved, so there was obviously no food. That was what had driven the Kaizer out to fight, after all.

Ichijouji remained in Flamedramon's arms, supported fully by the armor Digimon, not even attempting to stand on his own. He murmured something that Daisuke didn't catch, and Flamedramon hopped carefully to the floor, and started to follow Wormmon deeper into the fortress. Daisuke had to run to catch up.

It was just outside the hanger that they stepped across the first empty Ring. It lay on the floor, blacker and shinier than the floor itself, its runes dark. There was no sign of the Digimon who had worn it, the Digimon's body having long since returned to the digital world. The idea that there might have been slaves left trapped inside the fortress had never crossed Daisuke's mind; these deaths were also on his hands.

"We should have realized there were slaves left behind," said Daisuke to Flamedramon. "We should have done something."

"What could we have done?" asked Flamedramon. "We couldn't get inside."

"We could have forced Ichijouji to let us in." Somehow.

Flamedramon scoffed. "As if."

The layout of the fortress was generally logical, with a long central corridor and multiple side passages, but the way Wormmon took twisted deep into the hillock. There was a maze of byways here, guarded by more chrome digizoid alloy doors, but Wormmon turned here and went straight there, never hesitating at all. The lights on the walls were small, utilitarian, and they came to life as the group approached and fizzled out once they had passed, so that they were always walking in a sort of sphere of light.

The final passageway was too small for most Digimon older than the child stage to enter, just tall enough for a human adolescent. Flamedramon was simply too big. He set the Kaizer on the floor and devolved, and after that it was up to Daisuke to half-support and half-carry Ichijouji. At the end was one last doorway, nondescript, shining with chrome digizoid but otherwise unremarkable. This door, unlike all the others, did not open for Wormmon; it took Ichijouji's black Digivice to make the door part. When it slid into the wall, Daisuke saw that what appeared to be an ordinary door was actually more than a meter thick, glowing with pure chrome digizoid.

"How on earth did you get this much chrome digizoid?" asked Daisuke, because he'd never seen so much of it in his life.

"I made it, of course," murmured Ichijouji. "I'd never dig up this much. I can make anything, if it's simple enough, and chrome digizoid is really very simple." He put a hand to his mouth and coughed.

Behind the door, tiny green lights shone in the darkness. The overhead lights did not come on until Ichijouji spoke a command for them, and then Daisuke could see that he was surrounded by racks and racks of servers. A huge rectangular object, at least ten meters long and two high and covered in black metal panels, dominated the center of the room, with a terminal attached to the side of it and a waiting chair; it was toward the terminal that Ichijouji directed Daisuke to take him.

"Ken-chan," said Wormmon. "The computers won't help us. We have to leave."

Ichijouji settled into the chair at the terminal, and began to flip switches. "If that's true, then we're dead," he said, "because I can't run any farther."

The large rectangle began to come to life, ready lights igniting from red to amber to green, and a fan somewhere in its belly started to hum. The terminal screen blinked on, displaying a blank prompt. "What did they do to you?" asked Wormmon quietly.

"I told you," said Daisuke, "he did it to himself. He made a new kind of Ring, and there was no power for it, so he hooked it into himself somehow. I kept trying to tell him that he was killing himself, but he wouldn't listen to me."

"I'm not dying," said Ichijouji. He put his hands on the keyboard and began to type, as easily as breathing. Wormmon snuggled up against his ankle. "It wasn't as bad this time. Motomiya got me out, I think I was there less than a day. Now. How do you know this business about a strike force coming here?"

"It's all anyone can talk about!" said Wormmon. "How you were, were captured, and escaped Skip Phase, and everyone knows you were coming here. And the Holy Beasts are sending a strike force here to kill you!"

"Oh, so it's a _rumor."_

"Ken-chan, rumors are usually true."

"Can attest," said Daisuke. "Digimon gossip is pretty legit. We need to at least treat this like it's true."

"Oh, I'm going to treat it like it's true," said Ichijouji. He gestured at Daisuke without looking up. "Can you bring me the laptop?"

"Sure. As soon as Wormmon shows me the way back to the hanger. Veemon, stay here and help him if he needs to move."

That was how Daisuke ended up in alone in the corridors with Wormmon, and again he tried to apologize. "I really didn't know you were his partner," said Daisuke. "I wouldn't have told Gigadramon to kill you if I'd known."

"It's okay," said Wormmon. He had two gaits, it seemed: a creeping kind of crawl and an energetic hop. Daisuke had seen him use both already, but on this errand for his partner, Wormmon was hopping as quickly as he could, such that it was difficult for Daisuke to keep up. His claws clicked on the metal floor with each jump. "It might not be okay if you'd succeeded, but you didn't, so it's fine."

"I don't want you mad at me."

"I'm not. I'm mad at myself, because I failed to protect him yet again. And I'm going to fail _yet again_ if I can't talk him into leaving here!" Wormmon peered up at Daisuke. "What did they do to him this time?"

"Oh, uh ..." How much was okay to tell this Digimon? He _was_ the Kaizer's partner, but weren't the details a little private? Daisuke decided to keep it general, and Ichijouji could go into more detail later if he wanted. "Cut him some. They had worse in mind, but I rescued him before they could get to it."

"Cut him," repeated Wormmon, sorrowfully. "Again. Was there circuitry this time?"

"No," said Daisuke. Only the words. "Not that I know of."

"And he's been eating okay?"

"Yeah. We found enough food the whole trip."

"Good."

In the hanger, the two Digimon still waited quietly. Gigadramon gave Daisuke a questioning look as they entered, but he said nothing. Daisuke collected the laptop from where it was wrapped in the blanket, and when he opened it there was still some moisture inside from the last time it had rained. "There's no way this is still functional," he said, giving the laptop a little shake. A drop of water splattered on the black floor.

"Is there something on the hard drive that Ken might want?" asked Wormmon.

"Yeah," said Daisuke. "Those damned Spirals are on this computer."

"He can save the hard drive. I've seen him do it to computers damaged worse than that."

"I wouldn't be surprised if _mold_ is growing in it by now. So hey." Daisuke turned to Wormmon, and said, "We haven't really been introduced. I'm Motomiya Daisuke. Veemon is my partner."

"Wormmon," said Wormmon. "I'm the digital world's worst Digimon partner, but I'm what Ken has."

"I doubt that," said Daisuke. Wormmon started to hop toward the main passage, and Daisuke followed him. "Ichijouji isn't the easiest person to deal with."

"But it's my responsibility to protect him, and I haven't. I can't. I don't know how. Nothing has been the way I imagined, and none of his enemies are ones I can fight."

"Maybe this will be your chance, when the strike team gets here."

They returned to the server room, where Veemon anxiously met them at the door. "He just fell over right after you left," said Veemon. "I tried to wake him but he won't get up."

Wormmon scurried over to Ichijouji, who was passed out on the floor in a blue crumple, and melted down into wailing cries. Daisuke knelt next to the dark-haired Kaizer's shoulder, and shook him a bit. Ichijouji responded only by coughing weakly, so he was alive at least.

"Damn," said Daisuke. He set the laptop down on the floor and rolled Ichijouji onto his back, so that Daisuke could pick him up. "We need to get him in bed or something. Off the damned floor at least." Lifting Ichijouji was difficult, but proved to be possible; it seemed like he'd lost some weight over the course of the last few days.

"We need to leave!" cried Wormmon, and he attached himself to Daisuke's calf. "We need to take him and go!"

"Yeah, that wouldn't be a good idea," said Daisuke. "As soon as we got out of range of the tower, he'd be in even worse shape than he is now. I hate to say it, but he's right. We're stuck here. Why don't you show me where Ichijouji used to sleep, and we'll put him to bed."

"It's not like this is the only tower left in the world," said Wormmon, but he began to hop down the corridor, leading Daisuke and Veemon out of the server room.

"Well, I don't know where the others are. Maybe we'll peace out when Ichijouji wakes up again and he can tell us."

Once out of the maze, Wormmon led them to an elevator, which carried them toward the point of the hillock. There they passed a darkened room that looked like it had more computers in it, and came to what Wormmon claimed was Ichijouji's bedroom. And it did have a bed in it, and a wardrobe standing next to it, but it was constructed of the same black metal as the rest of the fortress and was completely windowless, and the effect was foreboding. At the door, two empty Rings lay on the floor.

Wormmon went around the room so the lights would come on, and then hopped up onto the bed. "How long has he been this way?" asked the little Digimon.

"Just since yesterday, really," said Daisuke. He laid Ichijouji on the bed and then pulled the covers back. "He's been deteriorating since he made the Spirals, but it's been slow-ish."

"What are you doing?" asked Ichijouji with a cough. He rolled onto his back and looked blearily up at Daisuke. "Where am I?"

"In bed," said Wormmon. "Where you need to stay for a while."

Daisuke yanked the Kaizer's shoes off, and unlatched his cloak. "You need to sleep," he said, and sort of rolled Ichijouji under the covers and off the cloak. "We'll have some food for you when you wake up, but right now you need sleep."

"I need the computers," said Ichijouji, but he closed his eyes. Daisuke took off his glasses, and set them on the nightstand next to the bed.

"We gave you the computers, and you fell over," said Daisuke. "Just rest a while until you can sit up on your own."

Ichijouji protested a bit more, but he was incapable of resisting what Daisuke wanted to do. Daisuke got him tucked in, and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, and told him to sleep, then let himself and the Digimon out.

Once in the hallway with the door closed, Daisuke said to Wormmon, "Okay, whatever Ichijouji was planning to do, we can't count on that happening. We're going to have to make our own plans. First, we need to feed all you Digimon. What have you been eating while you've been here?"

"There's food in the forest," said Wormmon. "Fruit, and some noodle plants."

"Noodle ... plants," said Daisuke. Then he decided not to ask questions. "Okay, we need to gather up as much as we can. Like, we need to absolutely strip this forest of food for as far as we can reach. Let's pretend we're preparing for a siege, because that's likely to not be far off the mark. The more food we have, the longer we can wait, and the _less_ food the strike force can forage."

"Okay," said Wormmon. "I can show you where everything is that I could reach in a morning walk, but with Gigadramon we can reach a lot farther than that."

"Well, the first order of business when Ichijouji wakes up is to devolve those two, so they don't eat as much. We'll use the hell out of them while we have them, but we shouldn't keep them."

The remainder of the day was spent executing this idea. Daisuke left Okuwamon in the hanger, and took Gigadramon foraging. Wormmon produced a large cloth from a storage room off the hanger, and Gigadramon held it between his great foreclaws while Daisuke and Veemon and Wormmon tossed food into it. They managed three trips before night fell, all but filling one corner of the hanger with their labor. Most of it was hard-rind fruit, but they also harvested all of Wormmon's noodle plants (Daisuke was surprised to find that they really did look and taste just like cold soba noodles), and an entire tree's worth of dried fish. There were actual, live fish in the streams, so Daisuke wasn't sure how a tree growing dried fish filets had appeared in the digital world, but they picked every filet off the tree anyway and took it.

"A lot of this is going to spoil before we can eat it," said Veemon, as Gigadramon carefully tilted the last load off into the corner.

"Well, at least nobody else can eat it," said Daisuke. He picked up one of the dried fish filets and stuck two fruit into his pockets. "Let's go check on Ichijouji and see if he's awake."

Ichijouji was not only awake, but he'd somehow managed to crawl into that darkened computer room, and was sitting on the floor against the wall with a keyboard in his lap. "You let me sleep too long," he said without preamble when Daisuke entered. His gaze was on one of the computer monitors, which glowed in the darkness like a rectangular white eye.

"Ken-chan!" said Wormmon happily, and he hopped over to snuggle against Ichijouji's side. "Are you better? Can we leave yet?"

"You didn't sleep long enough," said Daisuke. "But, priorities. What are you doing?"

"I need you to help me downstairs again," said Ichijouji. "I need to get the disc out of the laptop so I can recreate the Spirals. Then I need to construct a new tower, a hidden one, so that when the strike force destroys the one outside, we still have control of our slaves."

"They're not _our_ slaves," said Daisuke, as if he hadn't just spent most of a day using Gigadramon like a slave. "They're _your_ slaves."

"My slaves, then," agreed Ichijouji easily. "Regardless, if the tower is destroyed, we'll have some problems, so I need to build a new one that isn't so vulnerable."

"To be honest, the towers have always been too fragile," said Daisuke. "Can't you make them out of chrome digizoid or something?"

"Only if I don't want them to be able to transmit anything. Chrome digizoid is too dense." Ichijouji hit enter, and then started trying to stand. "Help me up, I need that hard drive out of the laptop."

"Ken-chan," said Wormmon worriedly, "you should be in bed! Or leaving! We should be leaving!"

"Wormmon, please," said Ichijouji. He held out a hand and Daisuke, somewhat reluctantly, took it to help lever him to his feet. Then Daisuke had to catch him, because he couldn't stay upright. "I've already explained why we can't leave."

"Well, here's the thing," said Daisuke, who had thought about this some while harvesting fruit and fish. "If they come here and find the place buttoned up tight, how will they know we're here? Can we make them _think_ that we left?" He pulled his D-terminal out of his pocket. "How far do you think I can get on Gigadramon to send an email, and be back before the strike team arrives?"

Ichijouji eyed the small computer for a moment, and said, "A long way. But I'd have to come with you for the Spiral to work."

"Not if I went to where there are more towers. Wormmon said there are more. If you show me where they are, I'll go where they are and the towers will power the Spiral."

"This is ... not a bad idea," said Ichijouji, and he gave Daisuke a shrewd look. "Will your friends be suspicious when you suddenly become the emailing champion?"

"I sent two before," said Daisuke. "Look, I don't know, but I think this is a chance worth taking. We'll make it look like we came here, grabbed some stuff, and booked it. Then maybe the strike team won't stay, or won't stay long. You stay here and work on the Spirals or the tower or whatever, and I'll go and be back before morning."

Ichijouji swayed a little, and then coughed into his hand before saying, "Okay. Help me down to the mainframe, and I'll mod your Digivice so you can see the towers. Then you can do whatever you want."

"Ken-chan," said Wormmon. "If we can leave, we should!"

"We can't," said Ichijouji patiently.

Daisuke assisted Ichijouji to the server room once more, and got him seated at the terminal. There Ichijouji took Daisuke's Digivice and set it next to the monitor, and whatever he did this time took about half as long as the last modification. When he handed it back he showed Daisuke the new function, accessed with the buttons the same way the others were. Daisuke could see the nearby tower as a black mark near the center of the screen, and two more much farther away.

"As long as I can see them, they can power the Spiral," he said.

"See them with your eyes," corrected Ichijouji. "Just because they're visible on the Digivice doesn't mean they're necessarily close enough."

Shoving the Digivice into his pocket, Daisuke said, "Right. I'll be back as soon as I can." He leaned down to give Ichijouji a kiss, intending it to be on the lips, but Ichijouji turned his head a bit at the last second and the kiss landed on the side of his mouth.

* * *

An hour later, in the gathering dusk, Daisuke was astride Gigadramon and headed north-east toward the next nearest tower. The forest was a furry blur beneath him; Gigadramon was insanely fast on his metal wings. Daisuke rode the beast on the neck, with one hand twisted in Gigadramon's mane, leaning down to be out of the wind. He'd left Veemon behind, and this was the first time in forever he'd been separated from his partner, and he felt very alone.

Gigadramon wasn't much of a talker once he'd been given instructions, and the two flew in silence, giving Daisuke plenty of time to hope that this plan would work. It had to, really; the amount of food they'd gathered would keep the humans and their Digimon going for maybe a week before it started to spoil. They needed to lure the strike team away from the fortress. It had to work. It had to.

Daisuke slowed Gigadramon three towers over, as the digital moon rose toward the zenith. He told the Digimon to fly at approximately the speed an Airdramon might go, and then sat back to type out his first message. It was a reply to Takeru, not his most recent email, but the one before that.

_Takeru,_

_Yes, I'm saying that the Holy Beasts tortured the Kaizer in Skip Phase. I saw the marks myself. He's still not recovered. Staying on the move all the time is hard. Don't try to say that he was lying to me and somehow did it to himself. Nobody could or would do that to themselves._

_The Holy Beasts aren't what we thought. Didn't you ever notice how they give us nothing but words? We fight their wars for them and put ourselves on the line, and what do we get out of it? I'm asking this as a serious question._

_Daisuke_

It was late at night, and Daisuke really didn't expect an immediate reply, so he scanned Hikari's email and tried to compose a response to it as well. Hikari would show Taichi whatever Daisuke sent, so he had to keep that in mind. What did Taichi think of any of this? Daisuke found himself legitimately curious.

He was about to start typing out a response to Hikari when his D-terminal chimed, and a response from Takeru was sitting in his inbox.

_Daisuke-kun,_

_I don't know what you get out of it. I guess nothing? But I get a lot out of helping those who can't help themselves. All those Digimon the Kaizer has hurt and killed couldn't defend themselves. And what about the ones you've hurt and killed with him? Were those fair fights? Did they attack you, and you were just defending yourself? I saw that farmhouse the two of you destroyed. How many Digimon did you kill to cover your tracks there?_

_I just don't understand where you're coming from anymore. I don't understand you at all. Are you even the same Daisuke we knew? Daisuke, I miss you. I miss the real you, the one who didn't do things like this._

_Takeru_

Daisuke stared at the email for a long time before he could even think about typing out a response. The real him? The one who didn't murder Digimon for his own convenience? That person felt dead. He'd even been prepared to kill Ichijouji's own partner out of reflex, before knowing anything about the Digimon in his sights.

What was he, really? What kind of person had he become?

It was honestly too late for that kind of question, but Daisuke asked it of himself anyway, and didn't necessarily like the answer he got. He started to type out a reply.

_Takeru,_

_I guess you didn't read where I said that the Holy Beasts **tortured** the Digimon Kaizer in Skip Phase. This isn't about helping helpless Digimon. This is about the Holy Beasts trying to kill him, and kill me for helping him. What do you expect me to do when someone is trying to murder me? Lay down for it? They aren't what we thought they were._

_I don't want to be like this. I don't want to do these things. I don't want to tell myself that it's okay, because Digimon get reborn and they aren't dead for real or anything. I know these things are bad, but I don't know what else to do. Nobody will help him, except me, and nobody can help me except him. You don't know what that's like._

_Daisuke_

A bit of wetness bothered Daisuke's nose, and he sniffled. He thought for a few minutes before he hit send on that one, because it was maybe getting a little bit too personal. But in the darkness and the cold wind, with the stars all around and the moon shining down, Daisuke thought that it might be okay. He pressed the send button, and then hunkered down as Gigadramon flew, and waited for the response.

_Daisuke-kun,_

_I did read that, I'm just not sure what to think about it. I'd say that he's lying, but if you saw marks, then ... I don't know what to think. I don't know what to tell you. But let me ask you something. Do you love him?_

_Takeru_

Of everything Daisuke had thought Takeru might say, that had not made the list. Daisuke had no answer for it, no response whatsoever. His first instinct was to laugh, but, well, it was a legitimate question. He'd kissed the Kaizer in front of Patamon, roughly and thoroughly, and Patamon had clearly shared that with Takeru.

Did Daisuke love Ichijouji? Even Daisuke knew that sexual things were supposed to come with love, but he didn't feel the same way toward Ichijouji that he felt toward Hikari. He could barely imagine actually touching Hikari the way he touched Ichijouji – she just seemed so remote, so _pure_ in a way that didn't invite fantasies of Daisuke sliding his hands down her pants. Daisuke loved Hikari. But he wasn't sure what that meant for Ichijouji.

Leaning down to be out of the wind, Daisuke started to type his reply.

_Takeru,_

_I don't know. How would you feel if Hikari had words cut into her by the Holy Beasts? That's how I feel about it happening to the Kaizer. It's awful and wrong and that's not even the beginning of what this world has done to him. I don't know how I need to feel about him to care about that._

_This place has twisted him up, and maybe it's twisting me, too._

_Daisuke_

Daisuke shut his D-terminal, not waiting for a response, and put it into his pocket. Mission accomplished. "Okay, Gigadramon," he said. "Back to the fortress, as fast as you can."

* * *

Ichijouji was nowhere to be found when Daisuke returned, so he was presumably still in the server room. Daisuke walked around, calling Ichijouji's name in the echoing halls, until Wormmon came scurrying out of nowhere.

"He's down by the mainframe," said Wormmon, voice quavering. "He's asleep on the floor again. Please come help us get him upstairs."

"Damn," said Daisuke, not at all looking forward to carrying Ichijouji through the base again. He followed Wormmon through the maze of passageways, and found Ichijouji indeed passed out on the cold black floor. The fruit and fish that Daisuke had left him seemed to be gone, even the rinds cleaned up, and Daisuke hoped Ichijouji had eaten them and not fed them to Veemon.

"He was doing something with the computer," said Veemon, while Daisuke lifted Ichijouji's hair away from his face to check his color. "Then he just fell over, like he did before. He doesn't lay down or anything, he just kind of loses consciousness and flops."

"Okay," said Daisuke. He started to gather Ichijouji up. "How long has he been out?"

"More than two hours," said Veemon.

Ichijouji murmured when Daisuke started to pick him up this time. "Not yet," whispered the dark-haired boy. "I'm not finished."

"You're getting nothing done anyway," said Daisuke. He lifted Ichijouji as carefully as he could, but Ichijouji coughed anyway and didn't manage to catch it all on his glove; a thin splatter of blood stained the saliva on Daisuke's arm. "Hey. You need to devolve Gigadramon for me, so he can eat and rest, and then you need to rest yourself."

"I'm not finished yet," said Ichijouji again.

"You're not going to be before they get here. Just accept that."

Daisuke followed Wormmon with Veemon trailing behind, carrying Ichijouji up through the winding passages. It was almost unreal, how the lights followed them, flicking on as they approached and off again behind, as though the entire universe were down to this bubble of light.

"How long ago did Ichijouji send you away?" Daisuke asked Wormmon as they walked.

"Months ago," said Wormmon. "I didn't want to leave, but he said it would help him ... so I did. Then I wasn't here when he was captured, and I couldn't help him and ..." Wormmon made a soft sound, halfway between a sigh and a sob. "I'm a failure, I know."

"We're going to see tomorrow if I'm a failure, too," said Veemon. "I don't feel like I've been one, but I don't know what I can do from this point out."

"Neither of you are failures," said Daisuke. "Don't get down on yourselves."

In the hanger, Daisuke didn't even bother to put Ichijouji down, unsure if his aching arms would be able to pick the other boy back up if he did. Ichijouji was drowsy, but capable of doing as he was told; Okuwamon and Gigadramon were quickly devolved down to Kunemon and Monodramon, and ordered to go eat something. Ichijouji almost dropped his Digivice when he was finished, and Veemon had to rescue it.

"Why am I so tired?" asked Ichijouji, as Daisuke carried him to the elevator.

"Because you were stupid with the Spirals," said Daisuke. He stepped into the elevator and let Wormmon handle which floor to choose. "I told you that you were killing yourself, over and over, and you didn't listen to me."

"I'm not dying."

"You're not well, either."

After Daisuke put Ichijouji back to bed, he was faced with a choice. He was exhausted himself by this point, and really wanted some sleep, but there was only the one bed in the room. "Wormmon," said Daisuke, "is there another bed anywhere in this place?"

"No. The slaves just slept where they were assigned."

And Ichijouji had been the only human. Daisuke sat down on the edge of the bed and started to take off his shoes and jacket. He set his goggles down on the nightstand. "I guess I'm sleeping here, then. Is there an alarm clock or something? Can you wake me before it's too late in the morning?"

"Yes," said Wormmon. "Mid-morning? Maybe ten-ish?"

"What do you want me to do?" asked Veemon. He set Ichijouji's Digivice down on the nightstand.

"I don't know, do whatever," said Daisuke. "You can stay here or go somewhere else."

So Veemon climbed up on the foot of the bed and made himself comfortable; after a moment, Wormmon joined him. The bed was huge, more than big enough for two boys and two Digimon to share it, and after sleeping on the hard ground for weeks it was the softest thing Daisuke had ever felt in his life. He decided to strip off _all_ his clothes, not just his shoes and jacket, pulling his shirt off over his head and shedding his shorts. After that, it seemed unfair that Ichijouji should have to sleep in _his_ clothing, so Daisuke decided to get the Kaizer's clothes off as well. Ichijouji sort of half-woke and seemed to figure out what was happening, and dreamily assisted in getting off his shirt and pants before falling back asleep.

Daisuke then thought nothing at all of snuggling up next to Ichijouji, both of them fully naked, and tucking his chin into the hollow of Ichijouji's neck, and going straight to sleep.

He dreamed of Pegasusmon screaming, then killing Takeru, and woke alone, sprawled all the way across the bed with the room's dim perimeter lights on. From across the way there was a somewhat brighter light, a doorway that Daisuke hadn't noticed when it was dark, and from that doorway came the sounds of water.

"Finally," said Daisuke, dragging himself out of bed. Neither Digimon was in sight, which was fine; they could take care of themselves. Daisuke crossed the room to what he presumed was a bathroom, and discovered that he was right: Ichijouji was having a nice hot bath.

"You're awake," said Ichijouji. The bathtub was recessed in the floor, like a huge scoop had been taken out of the bottom of the room. This room was also paneled in black metal, but the bathtub itself was made of something like black marble, or maybe black granite.

Daisuke scrubbed a hand through his hair and went over to the washing area to rinse off. "I am," he said. "Today is the day we get a strike force, or maybe tomorrow?"

"Wormmon said probably tomorrow," said Ichijouji. "But I'm going to treat it like it's today. Thank you for taking care of me yesterday."

"You look a lot better today." And it was true; perhaps it was the rest or the food or the fact that he was up to his collarbone in hot water, but Ichijouji actually had some color in his cheeks.

Once Daisuke felt clean enough, he waded down into the bathtub with Ichijouji. The water was perfect, just hot enough to barely sting, with a texture to it that betrayed some kind of mineral infusion, like a hot spring. It was pretty deep, but there was a ledge around the edge where Daisuke could sit down to keep his head above the water.

"Wow," he said, as he settled in. "You use this a lot?"

"Yes," said Ichijouji. "It's hard work being an evil murdering dictator. I need to be able to relax."

Daisuke laughed, and kicked his feet through the water. "Why is everything black? What's this metal you use for everything?"

"It's just steel," said Ichijouji. "It's black so it won't show dirt and scuff marks. A lot of Digimon will scuff your floors if you're not careful what you use for your floors."

"It's depressing," said Daisuke.

"Interior decorating wasn't on my list of things to do."

"Well," said Daisuke. "Now that I'm living here, it's on the list of things to do. I don't want to look at black floors and black walls everywhere."

"Maybe if we survive the week, I'll give it some thought."

That was sobering, as was the suddenly serious look on Ichijouji's face, and so Daisuke said, "Hey. We're going to survive the week."

"I hope so." But there was no hope in Ichijouji's expression.

Daisuke stood up and half-swam across the tub, until he was in Ichijouji's lap. "Hey. Don't look like that. I sent Takeru like a million emails last night, from way the hell out. They're going to think we're on the move again after coming here."

"Mmmm." Then, "Can I see them?"

"Sure." Daisuke climbed the ledge to get out of the tub, shook some of the water off himself, and padded into the bedroom to fish his D-terminal out of his jacket pocket. Without thinking at all, he handed it over to Ichijouji and got back into the tub.

Ichijouji fiddled with the device, and said, "It looks like your friend was in the other world when he sent these."

"Okay." That could mean anything, of course – Takeru was unlikely to be part of the strike team with no Digivice.

"Why didn't you tell me this could send emails to the other world?"

"Because ... I never thought about it? It only sends and receives with other D-terminals. It just doesn't matter where the other one is."

Ichijouji was turning the device over, checking how it was put together. "Can I take this apart later?"

Daisuke splashed over to snatch the small computer out of Ichijouji's hand. "No!" he said. "This is irreplaceable!"

"I'm not going to _break_ it," said Ichijouji. "I want to see how it works. Maybe I can find a way to send emails to, y'know, other people. Like, my parents maybe, or yours."

That gave Daisuke pause, and he set the D-terminal on the floor outside the bounds of the tub. "I don't know," he said. "Let me think about it."

He was sort of draped over the ledge, with his back to the tub and his arms on the edge, and he felt a hand slide down his back and over his rear. "I really won't break it," said Ichijouji. "I know how to put things back together."

Daisuke turned, and by coincidence this put Ichijouji's hand on his thigh, dangerously close to his groin. He knew what this was, and he remembered what had happened the last time he let Ichijouji sexually manipulate him. But damned if he had the willpower to push the other boy's hand away. "I said I'd think about it," he said again. "And I will! That's not just a way to say no. I'm really going to think it over."

Ichijouji's hand moved higher ... thankfully skipping Daisuke's warming erection and instead settling on his belly. "Do you want to kiss me?"

"You know I always want to kiss you," said Daisuke. "But I'm not going to suddenly think it's fine for you to disassemble my D-terminal if I kiss you."

"Maybe I just want to be kissed," said Ichijouji.

Daisuke had no willpower whatsoever; he again moved into Ichijouji's lap and this time ran wet hands through the other boy's blue-black hair. Ichijouji parted his lips before Daisuke even touched them, and ran his hands up Daisuke's back, and when Daisuke kissed him it was deep and full of the heat of the bath water. Ichijouji made a little moaning sound into Daisuke's mouth, and his hands went down to Daisuke's rear, tugging and pulling until Daisuke was settled even more firmly into his lap, sort of kneeling against the ledge.

It was so obvious what he was doing, so obvious, and yet Daisuke couldn't say no. It just wasn't in him to turn down an opportunity to touch and be touched, to kiss and be kissed. To slide his hands down the sides of Ichijouji's face and then down his chest, to follow that touch with his lips, nipping the side of the other boy's neck as he went toward the waterline at his collarbone.

It was slow and gentle, and the water touched Daisuke everywhere Ichijouji's hands didn't. Those hands first went down the backs of his thighs, then up the fronts, then up his belly and chest and over his shoulders, and down his back. Daisuke was fully hard by the time Ichijouji's hand finally went between them, and he hissed when his erection was taken in a firm grasp.

"Going to get the bath water dirty," he said, panting a little against Ichijouji's neck. Ichijouji was panting by now, too, but it was unclear how much of that was arousal and how much was just his weak health.

"I don't mind if you don't," said Ichijouji.

"I can rinse off again later." Daisuke put a period on that by again kissing his beautiful companion.

Daisuke shifted his hips, trying to get as much out of the grip on his erection as possible, and Ichijouji cooperated by stroking him in time to his slow thrusts. The water splashed a bit between their bodies, warmer than blood and slick with minerals. Daisuke's shoulders and upper back, above the waterline, were cool in the moist air. He was otherwise very warm, almost overheated, and Ichijouji's breath against his lips was almost too much for him. He reached beneath the water, sliding his hand between Ichijouji's legs and up over the other boy's scrotum until his hand gripped Ichijouji's hard erection in return.

Ichijouji gasped, and a hand went around his wrist, pulling his hand lower. Daisuke complied, breaking the kiss so he could ask, "What?"

"Here," said Ichijouji, and he put his hand over Daisuke's to push Daisuke into cupping his testicles. That was both weird and really hot, to grab the Digimon Kaizer literally by the balls and hold him while being stroked toward completion. Then Ichijouji's free hand went up the back of Daisuke's head, pulling him back down into the deep kiss.

Daisuke came a minute or so later, drawn slowly into orgasm by the careful work of Ichijouji's hand, and he panted in great heaves of air next to Ichijouji's cheek as the other boy shifted his grip to his own erection. When Daisuke released his testicles, Ichijouji murmured a denial of this, and pulled Daisuke's hand back to its place. He really wanted to be held there, Daisuke realized, and Daisuke obligingly complied with the request while Ichijouji jacked himself off.

Afterward, they lay together in the water, Daisuke far too warm but too lazy to do anything about it. He kissed Ichijouji on the cheek, and on the side of the mouth, and on the lips, and Ichijouji at least didn't complain anymore when Daisuke let go of his scrotum. Daisuke more than half expected Ichijouji to pick up his request to take apart Daisuke's D-terminal, but there was no such thing; Ichijouji just lay quietly for a time, and then pushed Daisuke to move so he could get out of the tub.

Daisuke got out as well, saying, "I guess you need to replace this water?"

"Not difficult," said Ichijouji. "There's actually a program written into the machinery that destroys and recreates the water every time it's used." He raised his arms and stretched, and his limbs were shaking when he finished.

Daisuke looked him over as he did, and wondered again if he loved this dangerous boy. Ichijouji's back was almost completely healed, the lines of the message down to just a few thin scabs and pink scars. The tiny nips that had been taken out of his flesh were effectively invisible, having healed over cleanly, but the white meshwork on his thigh where the Holy Beasts had cut him the first time stood out starkly, and there were still shadows of blood under his fingernails. It made Daisuke angry to see these marks, to think of what Ichijouji had suffered at the hands of the Holy Beasts, but wouldn't he feel that way regardless of who had done the suffering?

"So where are we with the tower?" asked Daisuke, as much to get his mind onto another subject as to get information. He found some fluffy towels in a pile next to the large mirror beside the tub and tossed one to Ichijouji.

"Mmmm. I was almost ready to finish it up when I sort of passed out yesterday." Ichijouji walked slowly over to the wall and leaned against it to dry himself off. His hands were quivering. "I'm going to make it smaller than the normal towers, and put it directly into the hanger. It doesn't have to transmit very far to keep our two slaves under control."

"That's a good idea," said Daisuke. "You okay?"

"Just a little weak on my feet," said Ichijouji. He finished drying himself off and left the towel on the floor where he dropped it. "So, I'm going to just destroy those clothes, and I have lots more here, but I assume you're going to want fresh ones?"

"Oh wow," said Daisuke, having had completely forgotten that Ichijouji could do that. "Yeah, absolutely. Can they be the same kind I had before?"

"Yes." Ichijouji walked out into the bedroom and crossed to the wardrobe, which proved to be full of identical sets of blue regalia; his steps were slow and careful, cautious of falling. "Give me a few minutes and I'll make you some out of the control room."

"Okay." Daisuke scrubbed the towel through his hair, and dropped it as Ichijouji had done. He retrieved his D-terminal from the floor, and popped it open, intending to check what Ichijouji was looking at in the headers that told him that it had come from the human world.

Instead, he realized that Takeru had sent him a reply, and without thinking he opened it.

_Daisuke-kun,_

_I don't know what to think anymore. I wish I could come talk to you, but someone stole my Digivice and now I'm stuck at home doing nothing. I want to know what you're talking about with the Holy Beasts, but if you think I'm going to trust anything the Kaizer says, you're pretty wrong._

_I didn't tell you this before, but I know he was saying some things to you during the trip back to Skip Phase. I don't know what all he said, but I heard you talking a couple of times. He's done something to you. He's tricked you somehow. And I know that you're at least kissing him sometimes when you're out in the woods together. Daisuke, please talk to me. Please tell me what he's done to you. I can help you. Please._

_Takeru_

Daisuke read and re-read the email several times, wishing he could respond without giving away their plan. He should tell Takeru about the Gates. Takeru was home, safe, without a Digivice, and he couldn't be trapped in the digital world if he couldn't reach it. Daisuke wanted to tell him everything.

Takeru would understand. Daisuke knew he would. Takeru was the Child of Hope, and Daisuke and Ichijouji had nothing left at this point except hope. Someday, Daisuke would tell him. Daisuke promised himself that, and closed his D-terminal.


End file.
